House of Power Rangers
by storytime01
Summary: Nina Martin didn't leave because she couldn't be around her Osirian, Eddie; it just didn't make sense and they both knew it but sadly it was the best they could come up with. She could've told them the truth but 1) they would've have believed it and 2) well, she actually couldn't tell them. Telling her friends she's a samurai power ranger would do them more harm than good.
1. House of Rangers

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers and House of Anubis (also I forgot to mention this story is also going to include some characters, locations and songs from Big Time Rush which I also don't own) _******

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 1: House of Rangers**

Nina Martin. The American. The old newbie. The leader of Sibuna. The chosen one. Nina Martin wasn't going back. She couldn't. Pretty soon the world was going to need her… again. Nina wasn't your typical, go to school, do your homework, go to sleep type of girl. No, she was more of the find the evil guys, go to school, train, do your homework, save the world, go to sleep type. This may seem a little weird and quite overwhelming for the average seventeen-year-old, but Nina's life has not been normal since she was five years old. Quite the opposite really, everywhere she goes. She's never really had anything different so she doesn't mind too much though.

"Nina, get up. We're almost there," Eddie says softly, shrugging his shoulder gently.

"But we're not there yet now are we?" she replies not moving her head or opening her eyes to which he just rolls his.

Eddie Miller was her best friend. Her best American guy friend. Her B.A.G.F. as Amber would put it. After discovering her was her Osirian, essentially her protector, they also conveniently found out they live in the same city so naturally they hung out a lot more, growing a lot closer than before. He was going back though. Nina was just escorting him in the cab to the airport for his flight to Liverpool, England.

"Nina," Eddie whines trying to get the girl off his shoulder.

"Eddie," she mocks, unmoving. He gives up shaking, letting the girl smile in victory.

"Fine," he groans. "But I'm sure this will come in handy one day." Before she can even question what he's talking about she's hears the click of a camera and all feelings of tiredness leave her as she sits up, reaching for the phone.

"Eddie delete it!" She exclaims as he puts it just out of her reach, opening his gallery to look at the photo.

"Um, no," he laughs as she struggles.

"Knowing you that photo could get me killed one day!"

"And you will be missed dearly," he replies patronisingly to which she just punches his arm as the cab driver looks back at the two teens and smiles.

"Aw why? I think it's cute," he mocks.

"That's exactly what Amber will say before she starts to scrapbook it."

"Delete. Delete. Delete!" Nina just laughs at her friend's frantic reaction. "and it's gone."

"Good. You have more than enough photos of me," she says shaking her head as the taxi driver announces they're arriving.

* * *

Neither of them knew what to say or do. They were currently in the airport, as far as Nina could go. They knew they would have to say goodbye, but it was a lot harder than anticipated on both sides. Eddie had no idea when he would see his friend again, it could be next term, it could be next year, it could be even longer than that. He was one of the few people in the _world _to know what she had to stay behind for. What he couldn't stay and protect her from. As not only her friend but as her Osirian it was an extremely hard thing to do but he knew he had to trust her. It was exceptionally hard on Nina too. She didn't get to say goodbye to her friends, her house mother, even Victor and Sweetie. Amber. Fabian. She was just suddenly disappearing from their worlds. Cutting off all ties with them. Eddie was the final one. Words can't be enough, so she steps forwards, hugging him. He almost immediately returns the gesture.

"I'm going to miss that place. All the mysteries, Sibuna, the people…" she trails off. "I'm going to miss you, Eddie. So much."

"I'll miss you too, Nina," he says pulling away to see her eyes glistening with tears yet to fall. "But we have our phones. Well, I have my phone, you'll have… that thing. And I have your fake real email. Besides, I'll be back in the summer. Hopefully you guys will be sorted by then." She just smiles a watery smile, trying to blink back tears. "Hey, did you know that your sweat kinda smells like cinnamon." She can't help but laugh at his random fact.

"That was completely irrelevant. And how often do you smell me?" she questions.

"I've been around you this whole holiday. I notice things and look, you're smiling!" She just shakes her head before reaching around her neck and pulling her eye of Horus locket off.

"Here, take this. It'll be more useful there than here. And give this to Fabian please." She hands him the locket and a letter from her back pocket. "I won't be able to contact you a lot, but I'll try. Don't tell anyone though. You know why," she explains, shoving her hands into her jean pockets.

"Of course."

"_This is the call for flight 231. The gates are now open," _a female voice announces through the speakers.

"That's me," he sighs. He reaches down, picking up his bags.

"Yeah, you should go. Oh, and I hope you sort this whole thing out with Patricia."

"Don't worry about it. You should go. The world's going to need you pretty soon." She just smiles as he puts down one of his bags to hug her once more.

* * *

It had been a few days since Eddie left. He sent her an email once he'd landed in England and they'd talked a bit, but they knew they would have to begin cutting down the amount of time they communicate. She was still living with her gran of course, so at the moment they were fine to talk as they liked but pretty soon it would have to stop.

"Nina go shower! Dinner's almost ready!" Her grandmother, Evelyn, calls. The girl was outside in the back garden training but the idea of food stopped her immediately. She hadn't eaten since around seven in the morning.

"Coming gran!" She yelled back. "Come on," she says, holding out her hand to her wolf folding zord, waiting for it to climb into her hand. She rushes up to her room to grab a towel before heading into the bathroom.

* * *

"Am I late?" she gasps once she reaches the kitchen, her hair still slightly damp.

"Just in time." They begin eating their meal (macaroni cheese with some vegetables) on the chairs in the living room, watching a TV show about an English girl who starts at a boarding school in America with a lot of secrets.

"Dinner was delicious Gran," the dirty blonde says as she finishes washing their plates. "I think I'm going to get an early night though. Training wore me out." She begins walking over to the stairs when her grandmother speaks, "Nina wait. I know I do this a lot because we don't know but honestly I really do think they're going to call soon. That's why I didn't think you should go back." Nina opens her mouth to tell her it's okay but she continues talking before she can. "But when they do call, you're going to have to leave immediately so I just need to say this in case I don't get the chance to later.

"You have grown up to become such strong, intelligent, independent, beautiful young woman. I am so proud of you. Everything you've been through, you've been able to get through it, you never let it keep you down for long. You are just like your parents yet your own person. They would be so proud that even without them here you have become just as great as them and you've barely even started yet! I love you so much, Nina," she finishes, smiling. Nina rushes back over to her gran, hugging her tightly.

"I love you, gran! Thank you so much for raising me and training me and everything you've done for me."

"You made it easy for me," Evelyn chuckles, releasing the girl. "Now go rest. You've earned it."

"Good night gran," Nina smiles heading towards the stairs once more.

* * *

Nina was alone in the house the next morning. Her gran had a couple of hours ago to go shopping whilst Nina was left to do her work. Of course Nina had offered to do it, but Evelyn refused the help saying Nina had schoolwork to do. Just because she wasn't going to school did not mean she was exempt from schoolwork; she was going to be working from home. It was when she was working on history that she heard the knock. A single rap on the door. She got up from her chair at the dining table going over to the door, confused. They weren't expecting anyone or anything today and her gran would've just entered if it was her. She opened the door but no one was there. She opened it wider walking out a little to see if someone left anything but she found nothing. It was when she turned back to the house that she found the source of the noise. There was an arrow with a purple tail in her door. She acted quickly after that; she grabbed the arrow, read where they would be meeting, grabbed her bag then left the arrow on table she was just sitting at. Evelyn would understand.

She found the place relatively easily. It took a while to get there but she made it. Most of them were already there when she arrived; two guys and two girls. Just one was missing by her count.

"You guys must be the rest of the team," she says walking towards the group.

"Hi! Is it you? Are you the red ranger?" The blonde with curly hair asks her.

"No, purple. I'm Nina," she waves.

"I'm Emily," the blonde replies.

"My name's Mia," a girl with black hair smiles.

"Kevin," the African American guy in the blue zip up hoodie nods.

"The name's Mike," the guy in the green jacket says. Before anyone can say anything else, a horse whinnying grabs their attention, guy on top wearing a red plaid shirt. "With an entrance like that you have to be the red ranger!"

The guy reveals his lion folding zord. "Yes, I am the red ranger. Let me warn you now, if you come with me now there's no turning back. Either we defeat the Nighlok together or they take over the world. I will give this to only those willing to accept the challenge." He steps down from the horse, showing them his samuraizer. "Do not accept because you were trained to do so. Accept only if you're willing to commit and fight as samurai power rangers who will commit and fight."

"Without hesitation," the blue says almost immediately.

"I've been planning for this since I was a little girl. So yes," Mia nods.

"I'm ready to give it all I've got!" Emily smiles surely.

"Okay, okay do we have to be so formal? Let's do this thing!" Mike exclaims.

"Let's see. Join this team or let the world be taken over by evil guys? Yeah, I'm in!" Nina exclaims, stepping forward to join the rest of her team. The red ranger walks back over to the bag on his horse, pulling out five more samuraizers. He tosses one to each of them, each ranger catching their own.

"Let's go."

* * *

The rangers survived their first battle. They hadn't even made it past the gate to the house when they were alerted by Jayden that a Nighlok had entered the human world. The six rangers morphed, the sudden flow of power giving them the energy they needed for their first fight. The rangers were just about able to each hold off their own group of moogers but when they seemed to multiply as they attacked Jayden was able to help out his team with his fire smasher, six of them coming together to take out the moogers.

The rangers spend their walk home exhilarated by their first win as a team, taking their time to get to know each other. Nina was walking with Mia and Emily. They were very different, very interesting girls; they were going to get on just fine. As they walked further though, Nina realised Jayden was walking on his own. She excused herself from the conversation to go talk with him.

"Hey," she smiles.

"Hi Nina. You did great today," he replies looking down at her as they walked ahead of the group.

"Thank you," she says, quieter though, not wanting the others to hear. "And it's good to see you again." Jayden pauses mid-step for just a fraction of a second, but Nina sees it still.

"It's good to see you too although I wish it was under different circumstances."

"Me too… but since we are in this situation I have to ask, we're not going to tell them are we?"

Jayden glances at her from the corner of his eye, just to make sure they're thinking to same thing, before looking ahead as he shakes his head, "It's best that we don't. Not now at least."

"It's too early, yeah. I thought so. Besides, the less people who know, the better." Unbeknownst to the two of them however, Mike, who hadn't been too far behind the two heard their whole conversation and was left pondering what exactly the two of them weren't telling the team.

There's a moment of silence between the two before she speaks again. "So, your entrance this morning. That was something."

"Too much?" He chuckles.

"Like maybe this much," she says putting a bit of space between her thumb and index finger, "was needed." She replies laughing with him as the two of them come to a stop right outside a large gate, the other rangers following their lead as Jayden steps forwards to open the gate, Nina gasping once she sees the house.

"Rangers," Jayden says, turning back to them. "Welcome to your new home."

"Whoa, this place looks crazy!" Mike exclaims, rushing forwards past the gates with Kevin shaking his head at him as he follows, still smiling though.

"It's even more beautiful than I imagined," Mia grins.

"You're telling me," Emily replies. However, when Nina just stares in awe, she touches her shoulder.

"Sorry, Mia just took the words out of my mouth," she smiles, looking between the remaining three as they walk through the gate. "I can't believe we're going to live here."

It was heart-breaking but looking back at her new teammates and leader… this may not be so bad.

**_So that was chapter one! If you enjoyed this and want me to keep updating, just let me know in the reviews. Thanks for reading!_**


	2. House of Training

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush **_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 2: House of Training**

Once the rangers arrived at the house after their previous battle they were introduced to Ji, their guardian and mentor. He explained to the team that the Nighlok live in the Netherworld. They come out to the human world through gaps to cause sadness, pain and misery. The tears and fear from these emotions is what causes the Sanzu river to rise. They need it to flood into the human world so they can stay and terrorise the people while Master Xandred takes over. At the moment, they can't stay out for too long or they start drying out. The job of the rangers is to destroy them when they're out here, to prevent them from doing too much destruction.

Mentor Ji had the rangers practice their samurai symbols before any physical training. True Samurais should be able to perfect their samurai symbols. The kanji had to be drawn with precision; even a stroke in the wrong direction could make the whole thing wrong. This is how the rangers found themselves in the training court at the back of the house painting on easels. Naturally, the red ranger finished first, the kanji setting his page as well as the brush alight. Nina followed a few moments later, sparks flying from her page once the last stroke is made.

"Very well done, Nina," Mentor Ji comments as she smiles. Kevin is next, the kanji splashing water in face, shocking him. As he wipes the water from his face, the other blonde next to him finishes hers unfortunately causing a boulder to fall out from the page onto his foot. He yelps in pain, hobbling over to a bench with towels as she profusely apologies. A little breeze blows the pink ranger's hair back as she finishes, leaving one ranger yet to complete their symbol.

"That's it!" Mike exclaims, painting what he believes to be the final stroke, but the kanji remains as black paint on the sheet.

"Practice makes perfect, Mike," Mentor says, coming around to look at his work. "Your strokes are in the wrong order." The green ranger nods, flipping over the page for fresh sheet. He moves his hand towards the board but hesitates turning back to place a hand on Ji's shoulder.

"How about a lunch break? You'll be surprised at how well I work after a slice or two of pizza," he offers but the older man's eyes are trained on the hand on his shoulder with an unamused expression. Mike quickly withdraws his hand, turning back to the canvas with a sigh.

* * *

Nina, Jayden and Mentor Ji were the only ones who got their own bedrooms. The rooms only had two beds and Nina didn't mind being the one alone too much. While it would be nice to have people to talk to at night if she couldn't sleep it also was good for when she just wanted to think about her friends back in Anubis house or when she needed to email Eddie (she knew she would have to stop doing that so frequently soon though) which was what she was doing when she heard a knock at her door. She put down her laptop, shutting it before going over to open it.

"Have you seen Emily? She's not here," Mia asks her, slightly worried. Nina could understand the worry; being a country girl it would be strange for Emily just to walk out to enjoy the polluted air without telling anyone. Besides between what had happened with Joy, Amber, and even herself the previous couple of years missing people weren't something Nina took lightly either.

"No, I've been in here. Let's go grab the guys and we'll go look for her." She grabs behind her door for a jacket as Mia goes ahead to get the boys.

* * *

"Hey Nina!" Mike asks as she gets nearer to the group. The four of them split up to look for Emily, planning meet by the park after 20 minutes. Jayden wanted to come and help look for her too but with Ji out of the house someone had to stay behind in case of an emergency.

"Hi… were you just eating a kebab?" she asks, noticing the tub in his hand.

"Never mind that. Did you find Emily?" He responds. Nina looks at him slightly confused, glancing to her right.

"Yeah, she's actually right here. She's just invisible."

"Stupid question. Got it."

"Little bit, yeah," she laughs. "Wait, look! That's her right there." She points to the other blonde in the team, over Mike's shoulder. She's practicing with a wooden sword by a bench in the park. They run over to where she is, Nina giving her a bear hug.

"You had us all so worried!" She exclaims as she pulls away.

"Have you been practicing here this whole time?" Mia asks to which Emily nods.

"I didn't mean to worry you. I just needed to do some extra training."

"The dedication of a real samurai," Kevin muses.

"Here," Mike says, offering her the remaining kebab. "You deserve this more than I do."

"No, it's not like that. I promised my sister I'd work really hard," Emily tells them, moving over to sit by the bench, Kevin and Mia joining her while Nina and Mike sit on the grass in front of them.

"You have a sister?" Mike asks.

"Yeah, an older one. She was supposed to be the yellow ranger but about three years ago she fell really ill, so I had to take her place. I haven't been doing this as long as you guys so I know I'm not as good but I promised I would work hard," Emily explains.

"Emily, don't sell yourself short, you're so good at this," Mia tells her but Emily shakes her head.

"I'm not selling myself short. I have other talents. I can play the flute really well." She smiles.

"I'd love to hear you play sometime," Nina tells her.

"I would too but let's get back for now. Jayden might need us soon," Kevin says getting up from the bench. The other rangers follow suit, getting up from their places to begin heading back to the house.

* * *

The rangers are spread out around the house when a sudden alarm gets all their attention. They group together in the living room where the lights flash red.

"What is that?" Emily asks the group around her.

"That's the gap sensor," Jayden informs them, entering the room. He taps what the others thought was just a table and a map of the city appears as well as turning off the alarm. "It's designed to go off whenever a Nighlok enters the human world."

"That's so cool!" Mike exclaims moving closer.

"So where is it?" Kevin asks leaning forward to get a better look at the map.

"City hall. Rangers let's go!" Jayden instructs running out, his team following close behind.

"That's enough!" Jayden yells out from the top of the steps. The rangers morphed on their way there to avoid being seen by civilians.

"Rangers! You took your time. My name's Scorpionic and I've been wanting to test out my new toy for weeks!" The Nighlok, Scorpionic, exclaims excitedly.

"You'll be waiting a lot longer if we can help it!" Mike calls back but Scorpionic just laughs.

"You can't. Moogers!" A large crowd of moogers dressed in yellow appear out of a gap.

"You guys take care of the moogers, I'll take the Nighlok," Jayden tells the team. They all nod, splitting to run in different directions pulling out their spin swords. They each handle their own group, but it gets difficult as the more moogers they destroy the more that seem to appear. Jayden is handling Scorpionic but it's quite hard to get a hit when the Nighlok keeps trying to perform his special move. Now, as a ranger, he's been training for most of his life to be attentive to his surroundings, so when he sees Emily's earth slicer hurtling towards him, he dodges it with ease.

"Jayden!" Emily yells running over to her leader. "I'm so sorry! I thought it was going to come back to me." However, this slight pause gives Scorpionic just the distraction he needs to use his Whirlwind Scythe Attack towards Jayden.

"No!" The other rangers shout running over when they see Emily standing to protect their leader. They arrive just in time to stand with her and take some of the hit too sending them all flying back into a wall, de-morphed.

"One of you guys take that little boy to safety," Jayden groans pointing to a little boy hiding under a table, surrounded by rubble, with his eyes shut. The red ranger struggles to get up but manages to do so, morphing again. "I'll take care of the Nighlok."

The other rangers stay down, trying to get up but feeling so weak.

"Guys come on! We can do this. I'll help the kid," Nina says slowly managing to stand, encouraging her teammates to do so too. "You guys go help Jayden." The rangers go and morph while Nina runs in the opposite direction from them.

"Hey," she says to the kid, crouching down by the rubble near the table. There's a hole where she can see the kid through. "What's your name?"

"Henry," he sniffles.

"Hi, Henry, that a great name," she smiles fondly, trying not to show too much pain; there are definitely going to be bruises once they get back. "My name's Nina and I'm here to help you okay?" The boy looks up from his knees, his eyes red.

"But there's a scary monster out there! I don't want it to eat me. I want my mum," he whispers beginning to cry again as he reaches the end of his sentence.

"No don't cry," she soothes. She points to where the other rangers are. "Look, the Power Rangers are dealing with the scary monsters so he can't hurt anyone anymore okay."

"They look so cool and brave!" He smiles.

"They do don't they," she replies, proud of her teammates. "I think they need your help though."

"_My _help?" He gasps awestruck.

"Specifically, you Henry. You're the only one who can do this right now but you're going to have to be just as brave as them," she nods. "Are you up for it?" He nods enthusiastically. "Great! Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to help you out of there and we're going to go find your parents but as soon as you get back and the Nigh- monster is gone you have a really important job. Everyone else that was here is probably going to be really scared because of it so will have to show them that they should be brave. We'll need to fix this place all together and we have the power rangers who will protect us too so we shouldn't be scared. We need as many people as we can get to help. Do you think you can do that?" She really hoped he didn't hear her almost slip up.  
"I can do it!" He exclaims.

"They'll be so grateful!" She tells him, putting out her hand for him to take. They run in the opposite direction from where the rangers are fighting, taking the long way around to the direction Henry saw his parents go in. It doesn't take them too long to find them.

"Henry!" A woman Nina assumes to be his mother exclaims, running over with her husband in tow.

"Where did you go? We were so worried!" She exclaims, as she and her husband kneel to engulf the boy in a hug.

"I'm okay now but I specifificaly, have a special job from the power rangers, and I have to start right away," He says pulling away from the people he was crying for a few minutes ago. Nina can't help but smile at his confident mispronunciation.

"You," the man says standing up. "You saved our son!" Him and his wife hug Nina slightly too tight.

"Thank you so much!"

"It was the right thing to do. I'm just glad we found you," she replies as they pull away, looking down at their son who was tapping on their backs.

"Come on! The power rangers need me to tell everyone to be brave!" He begins pulling his parents away but suddenly stops after two steps. He turns back and runs to hug Nina. She kneels to make the hug less awkward due to the height difference.

"Thank you, Nina. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have known what the power rangers need to do, and I wouldn't be very brave."

"Yes, you would've," she smiles pulling away from the hug, putting her hands on his shoulders. "You're a brave kid, Henry. Now go on. I believe you have a job to do." He hugs her one more time before walking off with his parents. Nina begins walking away, morphing and running back to her teammates once she gets back around a corner. She arrives just in time. The Nighlok is nowhere to be seen but the other morphed rangers suddenly stopped celebrating when they heard the rumbling.

"We're not done yet guys," Jayden says as the Nighlok appears in its enlarged form.

"Let's do this!" Mike exclaims, adrenaline pumping.

* * *

"Samurai rangers, victory is ours," Jayden smiles to his team as the Nighlok explodes behind them. The rangers struggled to form their megazord at first; the zords stood on top of each other, just waiting to be knocked over, then when they tried again, they accidentally left Jayden out. They eventually did manage to successfully build their megazord, defeating Scorpionic.

"Guys come on let's hurry home! I wanna show you something," Mike tells the team, beginning to run ahead, causing the others to follow him, reaching the Shiba house much sooner than planned.

"Mike, what was it you wanted to show us?" Emily asks as they walk down the steps.

"Right! I've been working on my Samurai symbol," he says putting out his samuraizer. "Watch this." He draws a symbol in the air and once he hits it to activate it, green confetti starts to fall from the ceiling. The other rangers clap and cheer for him to which he begins dancing. He suddenly stops looking at his teammates. "So, I'm just going to dance by myself?" He asks incredulously. "Come on! Let's celebrate." He hits play on a radio and music begins to play as the team celebrates in the still falling confetti.

"You know, we make a pretty good team," Nina comments jumping around with her friends.

"The best!" Mike exclaims. The rangers stayed celebrating and dancing long after the confetti stopped.

_**And that's chapter two done! I only got one reply so thank you for that sneakysniper334 because that was all I needed. I'm going to try and update this story every Tuesday and Friday, but I'll try to let you know if I might miss a day. Once again, thanks for reading **_


	3. House of Friends

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush **_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 3: House of Friends**

The rangers had been together for just over a week now, giving them enough time not only to get used to how things work but to learn about each other. Nina noticed little things about her new teammates, like how Emily is a great fighter but she's too worried about hurting her friends during training, or how Kevin is such a dedicated samurai, ready to do whatever for the team but it often stops him from doing what he wants to do. How Mia is an amazing warrior and friend but she's awful in the kitchen and doesn't seem to be aware. How Jayden has spent his whole life training to become this great leader and samurai that he doesn't seem to know too much about connecting with the team. How Mike wants to be here but he's not quite ready to let go of his old life yet.

"Ouch!" Mike yells once Kevin hits his shoulder with the wooden sword.

"Are you okay, Mike?" Jayden asks walking over to the sparring duo with bow staff, getting the girls attention too.

"Yeah, of course," Mike replies, rubbing the place Kevin hit.

"Use your instincts to sense your opponent's next move in a fight and act accordingly," Jayden says, suddenly swinging low behind him, aiming for Kevin. The blue ranger jumps just in time to avoid tripping up. Jayden continues to swing at Kevin, who continues to avoid being hit.

"Kevin, that's amazing!" Mike exclaims, only to be hit again, this time by Jayden.

"Always keep your guard up."

"Mike, can I ask you-" Ji begins, stopping when Mike yelps again. Jayden hit him again.

"That's not fair," Mike complains. "He distracted me." The red ranger just shrugs. "Okay, I get it. Can we try one more time?" Jayden replied by swinging beneath the green rangers' feet, but he manages to jump over, but Jayden quickly brings the staff up, hitting Mike on the butt causing him to yelp once more.

"Watch," Jayden instructs him, swinging the staff back around to Kevin, who was watching from behind him. Kevin uses his own training sword to fight back, the two beginning a small fight, entrancing all the others as they dodged each other's attacks. Unfortunately for Kevin, in an attempt to avoid being hit by Jayden he did a backflip which resulted in his trousers falling once he landed, revealing his white and blue polka dot underwear.

The girls burst into a fit of giggles, even Jayden and Ji were amused until Emily noticed someone missing.

"Hey, where'd Mike go?"

* * *

About an hour after practice (and once they established that Mike wasn't in the house) Nina found herself in her room again. Her teammates weren't the only ones Nina had noticed new things about. She noticed things about herself too. Like how even though she loves being here and she's doing a great job, there are still moments where she wishes she was back at Anubis House with her friends, with Sibuna but at the same time she really doesn't want to leave. She's only just got here. She and Mike had that in common and she knew that. The only difference was Mike's friends were close enough for him to do what she could only dream of doing. She just hoped he wouldn't do what she knew she would if she could.

* * *

A little while later, when Nina is watching Mia begin to make the tragedy called lunch with Emily, the gap sensor begins to ring saving them. They both sigh in relief, which Mia mistakes for sadness.

"I'm so sorry guys. I'll make dinner, I promise," she tells them as the make their way to the main room. They send each other a side glance of false happiness.

"It's at city hall," Kevin says once he's tapped the map.

"Wait, Mike's still not back," Emily tells them, looking around to see one missing.

"And he's not answering his samuraizer," Mia adds.

"We can't wait for him," Jayden replies.

"Jayden's right. To be honest though knowing Mike I wouldn't be surprised if he's already there," Nina says as they begin walking towards the door.

"You wouldn't? Are we think of the same Mike?" Kevin asks, causing the others to laugh a little.

"I just mean the attack is outside the arcade," she smiles as they begin running out the gates, sending their symbols in front of them to morph.

The rangers arrived quickly enough, their adrenaline running through their veins fighting off approaching moogers before even getting a glimpse at the Nighlok however, once they clear their path, they find Nina's speculation to be correct. Mike was already there fighting the Nighlok and by the looks of it he was losing as he's knocked back into a wall.

"Hey Nighlok! Stop messing with our city!" Jayden yells from the top of the stairs, running to help out Mike, getting both of the fighting duo's attention. The Nighlok was green with green and red arms which appeared to be its primary attack and defence.

"That's cute, rosy," The Nighlok cackles as Emily went to help Mike up as the other rangers help civilians get away. The Nighlok turns to Jayden quickly approaching and sends its fist into the ground. They seem to extend because it pops out again a few feet away, punching Jayden away. "Not even the red ranger can see what's going on underground!" Nina rushes over to help Jayden up.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asks, concerned. The punch looked painful as it sent gravel flying too.

"Sure, let's just get rid of this guy," he nods.

"No problem," Nina replies, preparing to attack the Nighlok.

"Actually, yes problem. I seem to be drying out so I'm going to go. See you later broccoli boy!" The Nighlok guffaws, going back through the crack.

"No!" Mike exclaims, just missing it with his sword. He sighs in defeat as Jayden begins to walk over, telling him that in order to keep his friends safe he can't be visiting them so often, or just leave. If the Nighlok knew who they were… it's the reason they don't live at home anymore.

* * *

Once the rangers arrive back at the Shiba house, after helping sort out the place the Nighlok and moogers destroyed, it's starting to get late in the afternoon. Once they enter the house they are hit with the aroma of a meal, and edible and enjoyable meal! Nina and Emily, who were walking behind the rest of the group, visibly relax as they see Ji come out of the kitchen to greet them Mike however still looks a bit down as he enters.

"Rangers I know it's been a long day for you. Come and eat," their mentor tells them.

"I let the Nighlok get away," Mike sighs causing Nina to stop and turn back.

"Mike it wasn't just you. We're a team. We all let it get away," she tells him comfortingly putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Nina's right, Mike. It wasn't your fault," Jayden nods standing beside the dirty blonde.

"Come on. If you want to defeat this Nighlok tomorrow, you need your energy. Eat," Ji says, guiding Mike towards the kitchen to get his food.

"Aww Mentor, I was going to cook," Mia moans, grabbing a plate to get her meal from the pot.

"Well, we took a long time Mia. I'm sure mentor was just being considerate," Kevin tells her comfortingly.

"Yeah, maybe next time you can work together to make something," Emily says, not wanting to ruin her friends dream.

"No, it's alright. I'll cook next time as a gift," Mia smiles, taking her plate to the table. The other rangers and looked back to each other, defeated.

* * *

Later in the day, it's around 6 o'clock and Nina is in her room sitting on the floor doing schoolwork. As she's still technically a student Evelyn left her enrolled at Atum boarding school but as an international student who works from home. It was quite a hassle trying to the school to agree without being able to tell the school the full story, but her grandmother was able to convince the board. Legally, she's still at the school she's just not there physically. As long as she does the work able to come back to the school in June to do her exams. If not, they could hire an invigilator to watch her do her exams at her house. She'll definitely be the first to admit it's a lot of work and hard to do schoolwork as well as be a power ranger, but she doesn't complain; she has to do this and if she's lucky, she'll be able to graduate with her friends.

As she finishes up some history notes, she crawls onto her bed with her laptop and logs into her email. She knows her friends will be worried about her. She left without any warning, not even contacting anyone (besides Eddie) as soon as she saw how much worse the attacks were getting. She knew it was only a matter of time before the team was called together so she figured a nice, clean break would be best for everyone… except Eddie. As her Osirian he would be able feel whenever she's in danger so being a power ranger and disappearing from him would be an impossible task, so she had to tell him. It makes it easier for him to understand and to keep the Osirian in him at bay. Of course, she'll have to contact him every now and again to show she's alive, especially if she's been in a particularly bad fight but he must make sure to no see her emails. A few days before Eddie had to leave, she had made a new email (with a different name) and the only person who had it was Eddie. She did that just so she wouldn't be overwhelmed with messages from anyone else from her old email… but she couldn't help herself today.

Once she opens her old email, she finds it overflowing with messages from all her housemates, Eddie, Fabian, Amber, Patricia, Alfie, Mara, Jerome, Joy and even Mick (he probably heard Nina wasn't back from Fabian or Mara)! Most of them were asking about why she wasn't coming back, if she and her gran were okay and how much they missed her. Eddie's was asking what he should tell Sibuna if they asked about her (to be fair, he'd apologised for sending in on there once she opened her other email address). She didn't plan on responding to anyone (even though she really wanted to wish Amber a happy birthday at least) until she got to Fabian. He seemed so distraught and confused. She thought her letter would clear things up, make him understand a bit more… so she replied.

_All is explained in my letter. _

She was going to log out, but he replied quicker than she anticipated. _**What letter? **_

_Ask Eddie._

As soon as she sent the message, she snapped her laptop shut. She would message Eddie later. She shouldn't have sent it to him. She slides the laptop into the drawer besides her bed before picking up her things from the floor. She hears someone practicing outside and has a pretty good idea of who it could be. She walks out of her room and goes to stand by the door leading outside into the training grounds, watching the red ranger practice. She watches him for a few minutes in awe until she hears shuffling behind her, turning to see Emily approaching. She smiles as she stands next to her seeing what she was looking at.

"He's amazing isn't he," Emily comments to which Nina nods softly.

"Yeah. I mean I knew our leader would be great, but I didn't think he would ever be this good and he's only getting better."

"Maybe it runs in his family."

"Maybe," Nina smiles, thinking of the previous red ranger, before turning to face the other blonde. "I just finished my schoolwork so I'm not really in the mood for training right now. What should we do?"

* * *

Emily and Nina spent most of last night getting to know each other, just talking about home and family and friends. It was a great time for them both, easily becoming close friends. Early the next day however when the rangers meet in the courtyard to train, they find Mike is missing again.

"He didn't come back after he left last night," Kevin informs the rest of the team, just as the gap sensor goes off. Mike left soon after dinner, saying he needed to check if his friends were okay and clear his head.

"We'll have to meet him there," Jayden says as they head inside to the map.

"I'll call him. You go," Ji says as the rangers run out.

* * *

"Hey, Nighlok!" Jayden calls over, the rangers already morphed.

"My name's Rofer, guys!" The Nighlok replies slowly spinning around before turning to the rangers again. "Where's the green one. Now that it's time to crunch, broccoli boy's gone bye bye?"

"I'm right here!" Mike exclaims, back flipping over the stairs to stand in front of the Nighlok.

"Show off," Rofer mutters but the rangers ignore him. "I'm gonna take this one by myself," Mike tells the team.

"Mike you can't!" Kevin exclaims but Mike turns to the Nighlok his Samuraizer drawn.

"I have to try," he says. "Go, go samurai!" He chants heading straight for Rofer who yells, "Moogers!" The other rangers take on the moogers knowing that Mike needed to do this one himself. After a few direct attacks, Mike begins running away, Rofer's arms following him, slightly confusing his teammates but they decide to trust him. They know he's far from a coward. A few minutes later, the rangers have defeated all the moogers and Mike begins to return. They see Rofer's arms close behind him but Mike doesn't seem worried as he suddenly stops. Rofer laughs and seems to want to send his arms to hit Mike but nothing happens. Mike managed to trick Rofer into tangling his arms around the city giving him just enough time to attack Rofer as he begins to draw his arms back. Jayden does step into help when Mike only anticipates the attack of one arm but they manage to defeat him together. Somehow the larger version of the Nighlok was easier to defeat but the rangers weren't complaining.

"Samurai rangers, victory is ours!" Jayden says. It's sort of become their victory call.

Once they get home Nina goes straight to her room, knowing she still has one person left to email.

_We can't be together anymore. That's it, Eddie._

_**Chapter three complete! I can't wait for you guys to read chapter four (where we finally meet a few characters from BTR!) Thanks for reading! **_


	4. House of Injury

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 4: House of Injury**

Early in the morning, before Ji even comes out, all the rangers are out and, most of them, training. Emily's sparring against Mia, Mike is against Nina (he finally mastered his samurai symbol!) and Jayden is on his own with a sword and a dummy. Kevin, however, is going around to each of the rangers. Nina almost kicks him in the face when he approaches her, interrupting her fight with Mike.

"Whoa, Kev, be careful!" She exclaims. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Nina. I just want you to know that if you ever need anything," he starts, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be there. You too, Mike." He adds, grasping Mike's shoulder too. "Anything. Just say the word." Nina and Mike look at each other slightly confused before she replies,

"Erm, thanks? That's sweet but I think we're okay for now." He smiles at both of them before walking over to the other girls. The pair stare at him, fazed for a few seconds as he walks away.

"That's was weird right?" Mike asks.

"So weird," Nina confirms as the gap sensor goes off. They run into the house, the map telling them to go to the park.

* * *

They arrive, already morphed and ready to attack until they see that the Nighlok isn't actually doing anything.

"Guys, we can't attack. He's talking to a kid. We can't risk hurting him," Mia says but once the kid seeing them, he runs away.

"Someone go after that kid!" Jayden yells but the Nighlok hears.

"No, no, no, I don't think so! Moogers!" The Nighlok yells as Jayden approaches it. "There are too many! We can't," Mia exclaims, pulling out her sky fan. The Nighlok must have been talking with the kid longer than the rangers thought because the fight barely lasted two minutes before he dried out.

"Ugh, you guys are just as annoying as the little girl. I'm gonna go soak. See you later, rainbow fairies!" He cheers before going through the gap. The rangers look around, to see if any civilians are around to see them before demorphing.

"Okay guys, we need to split up lit up and find that kid. We have to find out what that Nighlok said to him," Jayden instructs. Mia goes with Kevin; Mike goes with Nina leaving Jayden and Emily.

They were looking for quite a while, looking in general, local areas before having to go further out. Kevin and Mia found the kid, and Jayden called Nina to let them know that he and Emily were heading back to the house. Surprisingly none of the time with each of the pairs was awkward at all. They had spent enough time together as a team to make being in smaller groups fine to just talk.

"Is it weird literally living at school? Like what did you do during the holidays? Did you come back here to the states?" Mike asks as they walk back to the Shiba house. Nina had told him about her boarding school and her friends after they'd talked about his best friends, Logan and Matthew (the ones he visited a few days ago when they were up against Rofer).

"It's not a weird as you'd think. I mean the building we live," she paused. "_Lived_ in," that kinda stung, "is a bit away from the actual school. And our teachers didn't stay with us, but they could come to the houses. We could sign out and stay with nearby relatives too if we wanted to, but we had to let our house mother or creepy caretaker know first." She smiles, reminiscing.

"Creepy caretaker? What, did he have a creepy, annoying cat too?" Mike asks, half joking, half serious.

"No," she laughs. "But he did have a creepy, annoying stuffed raven."

"Stuffed?" Mike exclaims, shocked. It's not often you hear of people keeping stuffed animals.

"Yup. He stuffed it himself."

"No, he didn't," he challenged, disbelieving as they walked through the gate of the house.

"He totally did!" Nina laughs at his face. "My friends and I saw it way too often."

"Nina Martin causing trouble?" Mike asks, smiling, eyebrows raised. Nina's about to answer when she opens the door to the house and is hit with the smell of burning.

"Whoa, is something burning?" she grimaces, not seeing a lot of smoke. They walk in, going towards the kitchen when they see Jayden and Emily entering together from another room looking just as confused.

"What's going on?" Mike asks the two.

"I don't know. Mia said she was going to go cook something for Kevin," Emily replies, looking at Nina. Even though Mia hadn't had the chance to cook them a proper meal yet, she had made Nina and Emily something that was supposed to resemble toast one morning and the time she was supposed to cook dinner for everyone she was taking out some very interesting ingredients so they were quite weary of her cooking.

The four of them quietly walk over to the door and peak in, Nina on the ground with Emily, Mike and Jayden above her.

"What is she doing?" Jayden asks, looking around at the mess.

"Well, Kevin's staking out at that kid's house just in case that Nighlok comes back so she's making him a home cooked meal," Emily says.

"Apparently he was checking up on all of us because he was feeling homesick and wanted to make sure everyone's okay," Jayden adds.

"So, she's giving him burnt chicken to be less fancy?" Mike asks causing the other three to laugh quietly.

"I wouldn't say it's burnt," Nina says, in an attempt to give the food a chance, looking up at the others who look down at her disbelieving.

"Really? What would you call that?" Jayden asks. She squints, struggling to think of a better word.

"Chargrilled?" She tries slowly, until she hears rather than sees Mia cutting the chicken. "Okay, yeah, no. That is worse than burnt. What did that chicken do to her?" She questions, time causing the others to laugh loud enough that they have duck behind the wall before Mia sees them.

* * *

Eventually, Mia does finish cooking and she leaves with the food in a tub in a bag. The other rangers breathe a sigh of relief (also feeling bad for Kevin) but it doesn't last very long. The enter the kitchen and are glad to find it clean but they almost screamed when Ji opened the fridge.

"Where's all the food?" Ji exclaims. The fridge is empty, save for three eggs, half a pack of bacon, some juice and milk.

"It was full this morning," Emily replies, just as confused. Nina walks over to the bin, steps on the pedal to open the lid and finds its full to the brim. Empty cartons, cans, packets, everything that was missing.

"I think Mia might have experimented a bit too much with her food," she tells the group, who look over and see.

"So, what are we going to eat?" Mike asks. It's quite late so not a lot of shops will be open now.

"Well, I'll have to go and buy more things tomorrow, but I guess for tonight we'll have to get takeaway," Ji sighs.

"I'll go. I'll get some bandages too, it looked like we were running low," Nina offers.

"It's past nine, are you sure you want to go on your own?" Jayden asks looking out at the window to see it's quite dark.

"Yeah, I can just grab a box of pizza, go to a convenience store and come right back. I'll be less than half an hour," she replies as their mentor leaves the room to get some money.

"Here," he says, handing her some bills. "This should be more than enough."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Jayden asks, worried about his teammate.

"Of course. I'm a power ranger," she laughs, grabbing a bottle of water and heading towards the door. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

In all honesty, Nina did kind of want Jayden to come along. Not for protection because she was more than capable of protecting herself, but she hadn't really been able to speak with him about much else than ranger things. She wanted to talk with him and just spend a bit of time with him, but she knew that it wasn't going always going to be possible. She would probably have to be around the other rangers when she spoke with him or he would be training, or she would be doing schoolwork. It would have to wait because the team couldn't know. Not yet.

She was already on her way back and could smell the pizzas (which for the record smelled amazing). She was walking past the forest she came by on her way there when she thought she heard talking. No, not talking. Yelling from quite deep in.

"Hello!" The voice called and Nina knew she wasn't hearing things. It sounds tired, rough and young. A kid. Female.

"Hello? Is someone in there?" She responds getting closer to the forest.

"Oh my gosh! Yes! Yes, please help me! My battery died and I've been here for hours!" The girl says as Nina walks closer, following her voice, the trees obscuring the light more as she goes further in.

"I'm coming but I'm gonna need you to keep talking so I can find you," the purple ranger replies. It's awkward as she's carrying two pizza boxes, but she manages to grab her samuraizer and use her symbol power to create a bulb torch.

"Sure okay. I'm here by this tree," the girl says, her voice raw. The comment causing Nina to laugh a bit. "Wow, that was stupid, I'm in a forest. The combination of little food and blood loss is turning me into Carlos," the girl mutters to herself as Nina reaches her, chuckling.

"Found you," she whispers, getting closer. "Hi, I'm Nina and - you are dangerously pale. What happened?" She asks, putting the pizza box and shopping bag down, noticing a nasty, deep wound on the girl's leg.

"I've been stuck here for about five hours. I was just walking along a path when a disgusting looking monster pushed me down from up there and my leg got caught on a jagged, sharp rock as I fell so I've been stuck here," she explains as Nina gets a closer look at wound.

"Nighlok," Nina mutters, remembering it saying something about an 'annoying little girl'. Ugh, they should've looked further into that. "What was that?" The girl asks having heard her say something.

"Don't worry about it. What's your name?" Nina asks.

"Oh right! I'm Katie. Katie Knight."

"Well, Katie, I'm going to have to clean around the wound since there's a lot of dirt around it," Nina instructs, pulling out the bandages and her bottle of water. "Tell me about yourself."

"Well, I'm twelve years old. I have an older brother, ow!" She yelps, flinching from the pain; the skin around the wound is still quite tender.

"Sorry," Nina murmurs, focused on the wound.

"You were saying…"

"Right, well, uh, we moved here, to the palm woods, about two years ago from Minnesota, ah, with three of his friends and my mum," she says continuing to grunt and flinch as she finishes cleaning. Nina then starts to hold the bandage to the wound to add some pressure to it to cause it to start clotting.

"I'm really sorry! I'm almost done. I just need to wrap it up," Nina tells her, feeling bad for the girl. "Tell me about… Carlos was it?"

"Yeah, he's one of my brother's friends. We're pretty close and I love him but he's not exactly the smartest of the four… and he has this weird obsession with his helmet." She stops speaking as she sees Nina tying up the bandage.

"Helmet?" She questions, looking up as she finishes.

"Helmet," Katie confirms.

"Alright then," the dirty blonde replies, turning to the plastic bag to find those hand wipes she got from the pizza place. She gives one to Katie too. "Well, I've cleaned it as much as I can but it's not great. The light isn't enough," she motions to the torch. "And I don't have anything to disinfect it with. I won't bore you with the details right now because before I take you home, you need to eat. I hope you're not allergic," Nina says grabbing the top pizza box. It was still warm.

"No, I'm not but I can't take that from you. It's-" she begins but Nina cuts her off pushing the box towards her.

"No buts Katie. You've been here for hours and you've lost a lot of blood. Eat," Nina instructs, evidently not going to accept any other answer so Katie picks up a slice. Nina hands her a bottle of juice too.

"Thank you," she smiles to which Nina smiles back, as she gets up. She takes of her flannel shirt wrapping it around Katie, leaving her in a vest top. "I'll be back in a second. I just need to make-" she's cut off by her samuraizer ringing. "Answer this call."

"Don't go too far," The girl says, not wanting to be left alone again.

"Don't worry. I won't," she replies, walking a few steps away, so Katie can't hear it all.

"Hi Jayden," Nina says, answering the call, knowing it would be him.

"Nina, where are you?" He asks. "It's almost been an hour," he says as she looks at the time seeing he's correct.

"Uh, you see that forest on the way to the pizza place?" She begins.

"Nina, why are you in a forest?" He asks, reasonably confused. She explains how she found herself there before asking him,

"So, I'm going to take her back home or at least to the hospital before I come but she said she lives at the palm woods, and I know it's not too far but she hardly in a condition to walk. Could you call an ambulance over to the pizza place cause I really can't give specific direction for where I am. I can carry her to the there."

"Yeah, of course, just be careful," he replies, and she can hear him moving, probably to get the phone.

"I'll try," she smiles, looking over at Katie who looks exhausted.

"Do you want a taxi to bring you back here after?" He asks, dialling.

"No, don't worry. I don't know how long I'll be, but you might want to get another pizza."

"Be careful and update me later, okay?"

"I will," she grins. "We're going to start walking over. I'll see you soon."

"See you later," he replies before hanging up. She jogs back over to Katie who's finished eating and starting to fall asleep.

"Whoa, Katie, Katie don't sleep! I know you're tired, but you can't sleep. Not yet," Nina says rushing over and slightly shaking.

"I'm not asleep," she mutters, opening her eyes. "I'm just resting my eyes," she smiles weakly.

"You said you lived at the palm woods, right?" Nina asks, to which Katie nods. "Okay, which room?"

"2J," she replies as Nina begins helping her up. "Where are we going?"

"I really should take you to the hospital," Nina mutters, more to herself than to Katie.

"Do I really need to?" She asks. Nina herself wasn't particularly for the idea of going to the hospital; the less people who knew her, the better but Katie had clearly lost a lot of blood, possibly enough to need a transfusion and she needed to be sure she would be fine.

"I'm gonna say yes because I don't know how much blood you've lost but it seems like it was a lot. I need to make sure you're okay."

"Okay, are you coming with me?" she asks as Nina starts picking up her things before slinging Katie's arm around her neck to help her walk while holding the lantern, bag and pizza boxes in the other hand.

"Of course. My friends called an ambulance for us so it's waiting by the pizza place for us. It's only like five minutes away. Do you think you can make it?"

"Yeah but do you need help? Carrying those, I mean?" Katie replies pointing to the boxes.

"No, don't worry, I've got these. Let's go," Nina replies.

* * *

The drive to the hospital is about fifteen minutes long. Nina got in the van with her as there was no one else they could call for her since Katie's phone was broken and she didn't want to be on her own. Once they arrive at the hospital, Katie is rushed to an operating room since she passed out on the way there. Nina is taken to front desk to answer some questions about the girl.

"The girl you brought in. Name, age and relationship," the nurse asks, typing away.

"Katie Knight. She twelve and I've never met her before." The nurse looks up confused.

"How'd you find her?"

"I went shopping and, on my walk back, I thought I heard someone calling from inside the forest, so I went, and I found her there. She'd been there for hours," Nina explains as the nurse types it all down.

"That's very impressive," the nurse commends her to which she just smiles slightly. "Do you know what happened to her." Nina explains what Katie told her and answered more questions honestly from her name to the approximate time she found her.

"And do you know any family we could contact?"

"I'm not sure but she mentioned her mother, brother, and three of his friends, one who's called Carlos and they all live in apartment 2J at the palm woods hotel," Nina tells her.

"That's great, I'll give them a call, you can take a seat, Nina."

Nina takes a seat in the lobby, which isn't very busy but there were quite a few people, before remembering she should probably call Jayden. She stands up to go to a less crowded space when one of the doctors who took Katie comes out, looking quite stressed.

"We don't have any matches and we need to do a transfusion. She's lost too much blood," She says to the nurse.

"None? What type is she?" The nurse asks.

"AB negative," she tells him.

"Seriously? I was sure we at least had some O negative left even after those monsters raided our supply," he tells her coming around.

"Are you talking about Katie? I'm an O and I would gladly donate," Nina asks, approaching the two. She was prepared to get scolded for listening in, but the nurse took her for a quick blood test to confirm before they took a couple pints of her blood. They left her with some food and drink to replenish what she'd lost before leaving her until she was ready to come out. While she waited in the room alone, she took the time to call Jayden and tell him what was happening.

* * *

Nina was in Katie's room, holding a small bandage to where they drew her blood from and playing a game with the girl who had so much more colour in her face. She woke up a few minutes ago and immediately asked for Nina.

"Who would name their kid xylophone?" Nina laughs. They were playing the naming game with girls' names and were trying to get through the whole alphabet.

"I can't think of a girl's name that starts with 'x'!" Katie exclaims, laughing as well despite herself. If she wasn't in a hospital bed with a large bandage wrapped around her leg, no one would probably even know she was injured.

"There's Xenia," Nina gives as an example.

"What? That does not start with an 'x'!"

"Yeah, it does," Nina replies, the both of them still laughing.

"That sounds like it starts with a 'J'."

"Okay, sounding and spelling are very diff-" she starts but she's cut off by the door swinging open and a woman with three guys who looked to be around her age behind her enter with a nurse.

"Katie!" She exclaims, almost running to her daughter.

"Mum-" her mother crushes her in a hug as Nina gets up and moves away slightly so the five of them can have their reunion. After a couple of minutes, she hears Katie asks,

"Where's Kendall?"

"He went out to look for you, but we called him and he's on his way here. He'll be here soon," one of the guys reply before he looks around seeming to notice her for the first time.

"Wait, are you the girl that found her?" One of the two with dark hair asks.

"And gave her a blood transfunction?" The other one with black hair asks. He has a helmet in his hand leading Nina to believe this is probably Carlos and… function?

"Fusion," the first one corrects.

"Even cooler."

"Nina, this is my mum, James," she points to the tall, brunet one, "Logan," the one with black hair who spoke to her first, "and you might have recognised Carlos," she smiles, pointing at the helmet to which Nina smiles back at her knowingly. That's it! She knew she recognised their names and faces but she couldn't pinpoint it before but now… The guys whisper something to each other that she can't hear at the comment. "My brother, Kendall, isn't here yet. Mum, guys, this is Nina. She found me."

"You saved my daughter. Thank you so much," the woman says, moving around the bed and crushing her in a hug.

"Of course! It was the right thing to do and Katie's amazing," Nina smiles as she pulls away, looking over to the clock. It was already past eleven thirty at night!

"Oh my gosh, is that the time? I have to go!" She exclaims as the others glance at the clock.

"I didn't even realise how late it was!" Mrs Knight says, shocked. "Nina, do you have a way to get back? Let me get you a cab."

"No don't worry it's okay. I'll just ask one of my friends to meet me Pizza Pan," she replies, checking she has her samuraizer.

"Nina, please. Pizza Pan is like a half hour walk from here. It's the least I can do," she pleads.

"She won't take no for an answer," James tells her.

"Okay, fine. Thank you," she smiles, gratefully. "But you honestly don't owe me anything." Mrs Knight just waves her off, leaving to call a cab. She gone for a few minutes leaving her to talk with Katie and the guys, who are really fun to talk with. In a weird way, it kind of makes Nina miss her friends back in England. Her semi-regular friends.

"So, Nina," Carlos asks later in their conversation, to which Katie just rolls her eyes. "Do you live around here?"

"Kinda. Like a twenty-minute drive from here. You guys live at the palm woods, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you… oh do you know who we are?" Logan asks.

"Should I?" She asks, pretending to be confused. She was roommates with Amber for two years, of course she knew!

"Yeah, we're-" Carlos starts but is cut off by Mrs Knight re-entering the room.

"Nina, the cab is ready and waiting for you outside," she tells her, smiling.

"Thank you so much," she smiles picking up the plastic bag of bandages. She couldn't keep the pizza's in the ambulance, so she gave them to a homeless man, she conveniently spotted nearby. She hugs Mrs Knight one more time before going over to Katie.

"You are going to be just fine," she smiles once more, leaning down, hugging her before standing up. "And for the record Xenia does start with and 'x'."

"Sure, sure," Katie laughs as Nina heads for the door. "Wait," she calls out as she opens the door. "When will we see you again?" Nina thinks about it for a moment. She really shouldn't be making too many friends outside of the team right now but has to make sure Katie's okay.

"2J right?" Katie nods. "I'll see you soon then."

"Bye Nina," Katie replies, grinning.

"I'll see you all later," she tells them stepping out, before turning around again. "And I was just messing with you guys. I know who you are. Your music's great."

She walks down the hall, and into the cab,

"Where to?" The driver asks.

"Pizza Pan, please," she replies, as the driver, pulls out increasing the volume of the radio.

"Okay, so we're going throw it back a couple of years now. This is _This is our Someday _by Big Time Rush!" The guy on the radio show announces. _Ironic_, Nina thinks.

* * *

As she stops at Pizza Pan, she sees Jayden approaching the shop. Perfect timing.

"How much will that be?" She asks the driver.

"Don't worry about it," he replies. "The woman at the hospital already paid for you," he tells her. Nina just shakes her head smiling.

"Thank you," she says, stepping out as Jayden reaches her. He immediately hands her his jacket when he sees her. She forgot to get her shirt back from Katie.

"Thanks," she smiles.

"No problem, are you okay?" He asks, as they begin walking back to the house, Nina beginning to recount the events of the night.

_**Chapter four. Done. Well there you go! There are our members (well ¾ and more) of BTR. They're not quite main characters but don't worry they are relevant and will make quite a few appearances throughout the story. Besides, Nina's still got to meet Kendall! Anyways, I have you're enjoying the story and if you'd like to see anything just let me know in the reviews and I'll what I can do! You already know but I'll say it anyways – thanks for reading!**_


	5. House of Fun

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 5: House of Fun**

A couple of days after the events with Katie, the rangers, minus Jayden and Mike, were up early, in the indoor dojo. Kevin was using a practice dummy while Mia and Emily sparred. Nina was going to join the others a few minutes, she was sitting on the floor in a corner on her laptop. She had to stay on top of her work, so she was just doing some quick reading before training. She wrote out one more note on the paper pad she had beside her before closing her laptop.

"Is Mike seriously still not awake?" Nina asked. The red ranger wasn't there as he had offered to clean up after breakfast as the others got started. It was pretty cold out, more so than usual today.

"Hey guys!" Mike calls, suddenly entering the room, skateboard in his arms. "Guess what?"

"You're late," Kevin states, unsurprised but Mike just waves him off.

"That's old news."

"What's up?" Emily asks, moving forwards.

"Guess which rangers have the day off?" He cheers.

"Seriously?" Nina asks, shocked. They haven't really had a day off since they got there so it was long overdue but also quite unexpected.

"This isn't a joke?" Mia asks getting excited.

"But we just started our workout," Kevin tells him, turning to high kick the dummy as though it had tried sneaking up on him.

"Dude, are you really going to disobey a direct order from your samurai master?" Mike asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess not," the blue ranger chuckles.

"What should I do?" Mia muttered. "I go see that new flick or buy those cute shoes I saw a few weeks ago. I need some that aren't designed for fighting monsters."

"But the sun shining, there are hardly any clouds and there's no rain! It's a too beautiful day to stay cooped up inside," Emily tells them. "Why don't we go to rainbows end? I've never been on a rollercoaster."

"Never?" Mike exclaims, shocked.

"We don't have amusement parks where I'm from."

"Okay, then it's settled," Kevin says.

"This is going to be so fun! I haven't been to Rainbow's End in forever," Nina smiles, going back to pick up her things before the five of them walk out. She turns to put her things in her room and change before meeting with the others, who go and tell Jayden.

* * *

A few minutes later, she dressed and ready to go she opens her door and almost crashes into Jayden.

"Whoa! Sorry!" She exclaims as he chuckles.

"Don't worry about it." She notices he's still in his training gear as they walk side by side.

"Did the others tell you we're all going to Rainbow's End?" She asks.

"Yeah, you guys have fun. I'm going to stay here, just in case," he replies.

"You're not coming?" She asks, slightly disappointed but she tries her best not to let it show.

"Not today, maybe next time. But seriously enjoy yourselves, you deserve it," he smiles.

"And you don't?" She questions as they reach the door to the outdoor training grounds.

"I'll see you guys when you get back," he replies, ignoring her question, to which she just sighs before walking to the front door to meet everyone else.

* * *

The ride to the amusement park wasn't too long so once the rangers arrived, they still weren't completely sure of what they wanted to do. They didn't want to go on the rollercoaster yet just in case Jayden ended up changing his mind and joined them later. They figured it was a long shot but there was a slim chance and they were going to take it.

"Ooh that looks fun," Kevin says pointing to a ride that seemed to spin and spin until one's heart was content (and their stomach was confused as to whether food should be in or out).

"You know what, Kev? I think you're actually right. I'm rubbing off on you," Mike laughs to which the blue ranger rolls his eyes.

"Come on," Mia cheered, walking as the others start to follow her. They stand in line for the ride for a few minutes, just talking with each other. As they reach the front of the line, they see people beginning to run away from the same direction before the screams begin. Nighlok.

"Seriously," Nina mutters to her friends before the five of them step out of the dispersing line and begin running towards the screams.

"Mia, you call Jayden, everyone else let's go around there and morph," Kevin instructs to which everyone nods. The run behind an abandoned ride, morphing so no one can see them.

"Hey! The rainbows are going to meet their end and Rainbow's End!" The Nighlok cackles as the rangers approach.

"I don't think so," Mike yells as the rangers charge. However, this Nighlok doesn't seem to be like any of the others they've fought.

"Huh, what's happening?" Nina asks. The spin swords are simply cutting through it like jelly. How could they beat a Nighlok they couldn't even touch…

* * *

"I don't mean to sound like that Nighlok, but our spin swords and symbol power were, well, useless," Mia says, once they get back to the house. Their fight with the Nighlok, Dreadhead, was a mess. They'd hardly managed to place a hit on the Nighlok, even after Jayden had shown up. Almost everything they tired just went through the Nighlok. If it hadn't dried out…

"Yeah, we weren't even about to touch that Nighlok," Mike sighs.

"That's not true," Nina points out. "We managed to injure him when we hit him together." The room quiets after that comment trying to process everything. They've not come up against an enemy like this yet.

"I've been working on mastering a new power," Jayden says, pulling out a disc.

"Is that what you've been doing all day?" Mia asks, to which he nods.

"A new disc," Kevin says in awe. "Where'd you find it?"

"There are secret discs passed down from previous generations of samurai," Ji begins to explain, turning to Jayden to continue.

"Most of them have been lost in battle so there's a chance that this is the only one left. There's a chance we could beat that Nighlok with this." He opens his mouth as though he wants to say more before shutting it again. Ji sees his hesitation and continues for him instead.

"However, to master this disc, one will need to double the samurai power they already have."

"Twice as much? Are you sure you can handle that?" Mia asks, voicing the other rangers concern but Jayden nods confidently.

"Ji's trained me to believe I can do anything I put my mind to," Jayden says, standing up.

"So why not use it earlier?" Mike asks.

"Next time," he replies simply before leaving the room. Everyone else soon leaves, except Kevin and Nina who stays cross legged on the seat.

"Twice as much power," Kevin repeats. Nina bobs her head slowly.

"He'll do it. I believe in him," she smiles slightly worried, knowing just as well as the rest of them how hard he will work.

* * *

About half an hour later, Nina is in her room putting on her shoes before going out to train. She figured since they hardly did any training she might as well squeeze some in now. She walks out to the outdoor dojo, where she finds Jayden still practicing with the disc and by the looks of it, it's not going so great. He prepares his spin sword once more, getting ready to attack. It starts off looking successful,

"Come on, Jayden. You got this," she murmurs, too quiet for him to hear. Unfortunately, her willingness doesn't seem to help because he goes flying back again. It didn't work. Once he gets up again, she makes her presence known.

"I figured you'd be out here."

"Oh Nina, hi. Are you okay?" He asks, leaning against his sword as she walks towards the wooden swords.

"Don't worry about me. I saw you practicing, it looked…" she pauses, looking for the right word. "rough." That's putting it lightly. "Are _you _okay?"

"I'm fine. I just need to get this."

"Well, I know it's not the same thing but if I find some of my work really hard and I don't see to be getting anywhere, I find that it helps if you take a break and try again with fresh eyes; a better perspective."

"I don't need a break. Not yet," Jayden says, standing straight again.

"I also figured you'd say that, so I didn't come here to stop you," she says picking up two wooden swords. "I wanted to ask if you wanna spar." She tosses one to him, which he catches with one hand smiling, the other still holding his spin sword.

* * *

An hour later, Nina decides to call it.

"Wow, okay!" She exhales, laughing. "I see you've been training." He takes her sword, walking over to put them away.

"I'm impressed with how well you kept up," he smiles, proud.

"I could say that same for you," she replies, jokingly, still kind of out of breath. "I'm going to go get something to eat. Are you coming?" She asks hopefully but he shakes his head.

"Not now."

"You need to get it. I know, just be careful. Don't wear yourself out," she says, turning to start walking back instead.

"Nina, wait," he calls. She stops and turns to face him. "I asked you earlier, if you were okay but you told me not to worry about you but I'm always going to worry about you. All of you. You're my team."

"And you're our leader. We get worried about you too." He nods. "I am fine though. Just tired."

"You go eat," he instructs. "I'll come later." She just nods before going inside. She hears him pull out his spin sword and watches him try again.

"Aagh," he yells as he flies back. She sighs before going to shower.

* * *

As she finishes, eating with rest of the rangers, (Ji made dinner, luckily), Mia speaks up.

"Has Jayden eaten already?"

"Unless he came in while I was showering, I don't think so," Nina replies.

"I can fix something up for him," she says sliding out of her seat.

"No!" Everyone yells, Ji included, barely thinking of how it sounds.

"We just mean that there's still plenty of food that Mentor cooked leftover. We don't want to waste it," Emily explains, saving everyone.

"Oh, that makes sense. I'll take some out to him," she smiles, buying Emily's story, walking back into the kitchen.

"Nice save, Em," Mike tells her, putting out his fist for Emily to bump.

"I didn't want her feel bad," she says, leaving Mike hanging leaving him to fist bump himself.

"I know what you mean," Nina adds. "I mean the idea is sweet, it's just the execution that's a bit… too creative." Everyone nods, eagerly in agreement.

"Do you guys think Jayden will be okay?" Emily says, asking what everyone else was thinking.

"Of course," Kevin says, unconvincingly. "We need to believe in him."

* * *

The next day, early in the morning before the team can even have breakfast, the gap sensor begins ringing throughout the house.

"Seriously?" Mike sighs, exasperated. "The one time I'm up on time."

Kevin just rolls his eyes as they get up, "come on, let's go." They head to the living room, to find out where the Nighlok is.

"It's in the park guys," Mia tells them. The team begin running out, but Nina stays back, noticing someone missing.

"Wait, where's Jayden?" she says, causing the other rangers to halt.

"Go on ahead. He's coming," Ji says suddenly appearing from around a corner. The older three rangers just nod before running out leaving the younger two. Nina sees Emily lock eyes with Ji before nodding at his unasked question.

"Let's go, Nina," she smiles, as Ji walks back out of the room.

"Is he okay?" Nina asks, knowing she knows something.

"He'll be fine," she replies as the two begin running out after the others too.

* * *

Jayden eventually joined his team, aiding them in defeating Rofer. Mentor figured since that the rangers had worked extremely hard the past few days and their previous day off lasted all of five minutes, they deserved another day off, all of them. Once again, the rangers found themselves at Rainbow's End, this time with their leader too making everyone very happy. Especially Emily, since everyone was here so they could start with:

"The roller coaster, definitely," Emily told Jayden when he asked which ride, she was most looking forward to. The duo had gone to buy candy floss for the team first.

"I haven't been here in years but I'm glad my first-time back is with you guys." He replies before ordering the six sticks.

"You know, next time, you shouldn't train yourself so hard," Emily starts and when it looks like he's about to say something she tells him quietly: "I saw what happened to you last night." He looks down almost embarrassed. "I didn't tell anyone, but you need balance in your life. Train hard of course but be free and have fun every now and then. A samurai without balance will fall." He smiles at her, impressed by her wisdom.

"Where'd you learn that?" He asks.

"My sister. She was quite the inspiration," she smiles fondly.

"I guess it runs in the family," he smiles to which she blushes lightly. "I'll remember that; thank you," he says as they get back to the team handing them a stick each. They eat it while waiting in the queue for the roller coaster. They buy a few copies of their happy faces on the ride before heading to their next one.

_**And chapter five is now complete (I'm going to run out of different ways to end these soon)! Hope you guys enjoy this, see you on Tuesday and as usual, thanks for reading! **_


	6. House of Truths

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 6: House of Truths**

It's been almost a month since the team came together and this morning Ji and Jayden were watching the rangers train. As Jayden was the most experienced as well as their leader, on occasion he would just observe the rangers to see for places they could improve, or he could help them. However, when he did this it often meant someone was left without a partner and more often than not, was that person Nina. It wasn't always her of course, that would be unfair but with the way the team was set up and her level of skill she was just the one it often ended up being. She truly didn't mind too much because it wasn't like she was left out since they often had team training and if she ended up training late just for a break from schoolwork she would end up sparring with Jayden which was (almost) always a welcome challenge. Besides, it was interesting watching her teammates spar for example, Emily. In daily life, she was admittedly clumsy from time to time but seeing her with a sword you would never be able to tell. She was just so capable and sure when it was in her hands.

"Whoa!" Mike exclaims as he falls over the yellow ranger's wooden sword. She almost falls with him, worried, considering how hard he fell. However, only moments later she's chasing him inside, grabbing the attention of the others, making them follow the two inside. Entering the living room though, it's only Mike sitting on a chair rubbing his back.

"Hey, do you want me to get you some ice? That fall sounded-" Nina begins, walking over to him stopping once his face contorts, disgusted by the bag being held out to him.

"Frozen peas?" He questions.

"It's like an ice pack," Emily explains. "I was accident prone as a kid and it always healed me right up. Let me." But as she steps closer, Mike swiftly gets up from his seat, his hands raised slightly.

"No thanks," he replies, backing away, stumbling as he backs into the purple ranger.

"You really should," Emily says but he grabs Nina by the shoulders and moves her in front of him like a human shield, running away before Emily can step around her and chase him. "Come on! It'll make you feel better," she says, the other rangers and their mentor chuckling as Mike continues to run away but their laugher abruptly stops once the yellow ranger slips on another bag of peas, sending her and the bag in her hands to the floor. The team all rush to her side in an instant as the bag, Nina crouching in front of her as she raises her head, her face covered in peas.

"Em, are you okay?"

"They're everywhere! I'm such a disaster," she sighs. The bag in her hands, which had fortunately cushioned her fall, had burst open with the impact, sending peas flying around the room.

"No, you're not," Jayden assures her, resting a hand on her shoulder as Nina helps her wipes some of the peas from her face. "Accidents happen."

"And you were doing a nice thing," Kevin adds.

"I'm so sorry," Mike apologizes but she waves it off.

"No, it was my fault. I was being silly. I just messed things up as usual. I'll clean it all up," she says but as she tries to get up, she slips on some peas falling down again. "Not again," she groans, cringing.

* * *

It's slightly later in the day, (when the living rooms been cleaned up and Mike's feeling mostly better) that the rangers find themselves morphed and fighting a new Nighlok. When they first arrived only moments ago, they found people randomly flying into walls, the Nighlok not even touching them. However, they did hear it saying some pretty mean stuff to the people. Kevin, Mia and Mike flying back (after being called out for being 'boring', 'a lousy cook' and for having 'training wheels on your bike until you were ten,' respectively) only confused the rangers further.

"I don't get how he's sending everyone flying. All he's doing is saying mean things," Emily calls to her remaining teammates as the other regain their strength behind them.

"Keep your guard up. This one's tricky," Jayden warns.

"Come on! What tricks? I'm just telling the truth," the Nighlok scoffs. "My motto is, if the truth hurts, excellent. You're a red-faced liar, liar pants on fire. You've got a secret," he says to Jayden sliding him back into the building wall.

"Jayden!" Emily shouts surprised.

"I don't get it! What are you doing?" Nina yells just as confused.

"I told you. I'm just telling the truth. Now, now, chosey. Didn't your mother raise you not to keep secrets from your team, either? Oh wait, she's dead!" He says before he starts cackling causing Nina to go back, flying into Mike.

"You're horrible! You can't say that to a person," Emily begins attacking the monster with her spin sword but there's something different about her. While all it took was an insult to send others hurtling back, the Nighlok keeps listing a stream of hurtful things to Emily yet she keeps fighting back until he goes back through a gap.

* * *

It's not until the next day that the rangers are able to defeat the Nighlok, Negatron. The Nighlok was essentially a bully. He liked to hurt people's feeling and channelled mental pain into physical pain. Emily had unfortunately been teased as a child so she'd had to build up a tolerance to such torment and learn to ignore and dispute it to the point she is at today where people could insult her and it wouldn't hurt so bad as she would know it's not true. It was heart-breaking that she had had to learn to do something like that so young, but it proved to be a useful talent, nonetheless.

However, towards the end of their battle, once they had defeated the Nighlok, Jayden ended their victory call abruptly as the yellow began to fall. He caught her quickly though, before she could hit the ground. While Emily had put up a strong face, hearing all the insult mostly directed at her had clearly drained her more than she'd shown, which was how the blonde could be found on a certain green ranger's back as they ran to catch up with the ice cream van. She got down once they bought the ice cream, walking alongside her teammates.

"I have a question," Mike says suddenly, turning to Nina.

"Okay," she replies, waiting expectantly but Mike suddenly doesn't seem to know what to say.

"Right, well earlier we established that while I may have had training wheels, I didn't need them. And Mia's food is unique and original. Oh, and Kevin isn't boring he's just _extremely_ disciplined and orderly." Nina raises her eyebrows slightly at the emphasis on 'extremely' also wondering where he's going with this.

"I was there, yes," she nods.

"Yeah, you were. But you didn't say anything about what the Nighlok said about you," he says, scratching his head. Nina bites her lip looking down for a moment before he continues to speak. "And I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I know you are Jayden are keeping something from us too."

Nina furrows her brow, looking up at him.

"What?"

"The day the team came together I heard you guys talking," he admits, slightly ashamed.

"About?"

"How you guys already knew each other, and it was good to see each other again and that it's too early for you to tell us something," he tells her, and she nods. Nina just wondered how he didn't mean to eavesdrop but heard everything. "I just want you to know that I'm not forcing you to tell me or anything. I just felt bad that you didn't know I knew and about earlier I didn't bring it up so you have to tell me. I just want you that I get that while we haven't been here or known each other long you can trust me. You can trust all of us… and I was also too scared to tell Jayden."

"Mike," she says placing a hand on his arm to stop him from walking as the others continue ahead of them. "Of course, I trust you. I trust all of you guys and I know Jayden does too. That's not why there are things we can't tell you guys yet. There are things that happened to me over the past few years that I can't tell you about because there are more threats than the Nighlok and because of that, the less people who know, the better. As for me and Jayden…" she begins, suddenly not sure what to tell him. "Okay, promise me you won't tell anyone else, not yet."

"Okay," he nods, seriously.

"I'll admit we knew each other before we all met that day, but we hadn't been in contact for a long time. I will tell you and the others more but not right now. Just trust us," she says.

"I do trust you, Nina. Jayden too. Which is why I won't pry, and I won't tell the others until you're ready. Not that there's much to tell anyways," he shrugs.

"Thank you," she smiles as they begin walking again. "Although the reason you won't tell anyone is because you trust us?"

"Of course, it is!"

"So, it's not because Jayden's scary?" she teases, laughing when he lightly pushes her shoulder.

"Hey! I told you that in confidence!"

"No, you didn't," Nina laughs.

"We were having a moment. That means confidence," he tells her, which only makes her laugh more.

_**Chapter six is now over and out! Glad you got to see Nina bonding with another one of her teammates (I'm going to try to get her to have a little 'bonding chapter' with everyone) and figured now was as good a time as any for Mike to bring up that he heard them, but yeah we're getting a bit more plot and I'll see you on Friday and as usual, thanks for reading! **_


	7. House of Brides

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 7: House of Brides**

Nina can't believe the image she sees in her reflection. Sure, she'd always imagined the day but not like this. Although she had to admit, the dress was gorgeous!

"You can come in!" She calls, finishing off her makeup, as she heard a knock at the door.

"Nina, we've checked all the – whoa," Kevin breathes as she stands up and turns around to face them.

"What?" Nina asks, suddenly getting nervous and turning back to look in her mirror.

"No, no, no nothing bad!" Kevin quickly corrects as she turns back to them.

"I think what Kevin meant to say is you look wonderful," Mentor smiles fondly. Nina smiles back hesitantly.

"Really?" She grins.

"Yes," Kevin agrees. She hadn't done too much for the wedding, definitely not much as she would've if it was real. Her hair was down just how she used to wear it to school last year and she'd just slightly glammed-up her natural make up look but paired with the intricate dress it's like they were almost made for each other.

"Thank you," she replies before shaking her head to regain focus. "Anyways, have you guys made sure the actual bride, groom and their whole wedding party is far away?"

"Yes, we have, and we've secured everywhere except the main entrance so that's the only way they could get in," Kevin nods.

"Great," she replies. "I guess there's only one thing left to do then."

"Right. I'm going to join the others and sit down. I guess I'll see you out there," he tells her.

"I guess you will," she sighs, walking towards Ji as the blue ranger leaves.

"Well, Nina," he begins as the two of them also leave the room going to stand outside the door leading into the hall. "Are you ready?"

"Absolutely not," she replies as he puts out his arm for her to take. "But as true samurai, we must be prepared to pretend to get married to our teammates."

"That's the spirit," he grins as he begins walking her down the aisle to end where Jayden is.

* * *

"I can't believe we did all that for nothing!" Nina exclaims as they walk back to the Shiba house.

"Well, you have to admit getting the officiant to drag out the vows was pretty hilarious," Mike points out, causing the rangers to chuckle a bit. They were never really going through with the wedding. The whole point of it was to set a trap for the Nighlok. They've been kidnapping brides on their wedding days! Nina and Jayden had been volunteered by the team to substitute for the couples wedding (they had convinced them to reschedule after telling them what's been going on) because their hair colour (although the bride was more Emily's honey blonde than Nina's dirty blonde) and height had been the most similar to the actual couple. It had taken a bit of convincing on both parts, but they eventually gave in, especially once they realised that the wedding dress was almost exactly Nina's size. That information was relayed to the minister he did the ceremony but when it got to the vows Nina kept asking him to repeat them and Jayden ended up asking him to slow them down and annunciate more which continued until to Ji finally got the message that the Nighlok stormed a church downtown and took another bride from there.

"At least, you have some ideas for your own wedding now," Mia points out, the guys suddenly getting confused.

"I'm not getting married right now, don't worry," Nina tells them before turning to Mia. "And true. That's just definitely not how I pictured my wedding day going."

* * *

"You're already planning your wedding day?" Jayden asks, standing by the threshold of her door. The team got back from the fake wedding not too long ago but everyone (especially Nina) wanted to change into something more comfortable before meeting in the living room. However, Jayden had wanted to speak to Nina before they met up with the rest of the team, hence he was at her door.

"Not planning," she replies, putting on her socks. "I more just imagine what it could be like from time to time."

"So, when you imagine it," he begins as she gets up and walks towards him, out of the room. "who exactly are you marrying?" She suddenly stops walking for a second, glancing up at him, squinting slightly, before grinning as she continues.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes, I do actually but wait," he says, touching her shoulder to stop her. "I actually wanted to say thank you for today."

"For what?" She asks confused.

"The wedding. I know it was pretty weird, but you went along with it so -"

"You don't have to thank me for that," she laughs. "First of all, I know it was just as weird for you as it was for me and like I told Mentor earlier I'm pretty sure we all knew coming into this fake marrying our teammates is what true samurai must do." Jayden just chuckles before the two of them enter the room finding most of the other rangers there, just Kevin missing but he enters soon after them, his eyes much less red than they were before (he claims it was allergies but they all know it was the "wedding" that got him emotional).

* * *

"Hey look!" Mike suddenly exclaims, grabbing everyone's attention. "It's in a pattern. In the shape of a star."

"You're right," Kevin agrees as they all see the pattern of the outstanding points on the map. "Have you studied patterns in maps before?"

"Kind of. I watch a lot of cop shows," he replies to which Kevin just rolls his eyes.

"We left too much down to chance last time," Jayden says authority in his voice. "We have to make sure we lure them in this time."

"I can't even imagine what those poor girls are going through. I mean, this is supposed to be the happiest day of their lives," Mia sighs sadly. It's heart-breaking really; it's supposed to be their happiest day and now their tears of sorrow filling up the Sanzu river instead of joy.

"You don't think the brides were taken to the Sanzu river, do you?" Emily asks.

"No," Ji replies. "The living can't survive there for long and they need their tears. The moogers must have used the gap to transport them somewhere else."

"We have to try again," Jayden says as Mentor grabs a stack of paper from the drawer under the table.

"How do we get them to come to our wedding?" Kevin asks.

"Is that a list of all the scheduled weddings?" Nina asks, peeking at the papers to which Ji nods.

"That's our issue," Emily sighs. "There are so many." Jayden suddenly sits up straight, leaning over to check the papers for something.

"I just got an idea," he says.

"What?" Mike asks. Jayden looks around at all of them before saying,

"Get ready to make some phone calls."

* * *

It took them a few hours, but they eventually managed to convince all the couples to stall their weddings for the safety of them and their guests. All except one which was just what they had planned. The rangers had filled the couple in on the plan who then promised to alert the guests who would stay natural and play along… which is how Nina found herself once again walking down the aisle to Jayden surrounded by strangers acting as though they knew her. Nina wasn't exactly thrilled to be the bride again, and once again, her and Jayden were the most similar looking, way more so than the last time. Their resembles to the couple – Alex Heartman and Nathalia Ramos – was uncanny. However, it's pretty quickly that the moogers break in and they all act as normal unaware people would and try running away before the moogers manage to catch the purple ranger, taking her away through a gap. It's a strange sensation passing through, it's so cold yet blisteringly hot at the same time; like passing through jelly yet passing through a vacuum before they appear outside an old warehouse, dragging Nina in.

"Welcome! Welcome!" Dayu says as they throw her to the ground as Nina tries to keep her veil down. "How could I make this more comfortable for you, purple power ranger?" She asks. "Or hmm, what was that vain thing you like to call yourself? The chosen one, right? I'm sure all those brides would beg to differ but whichever you prefer I guess," she mutters walking around the ranger as she tries to hide her samuraizer under her dress. "Ooh, what's that you're trying to hide under your dress?" She asks grabbing the samuraizer as the moogers hold Nina back.

"Give that back!" she yells.

"Aww, you brought me a wedding favour. Anyways, did you your friends really think you could deceive me? We've been watching your pathetic rainbow team. Now I have a power ranger and the real bride." As she finishes speaking, the moogers drag in another resisting bride. The one they hid.

"No! We hid her!" Nina exclaims.

"Clearly not. Now here's what's you're gonna do," the Nighlok woman starts, opening the samuraizer. "You're gonna call your friends as planned and tell that you've found the brides at warehouse thirty-two by the docks." She puts it to the purple ranger's ear.

"No way! I'm not sending my friends into a trap," Nina scowls loudly, turning my face away from the morpher, but she just laughs.

"I won't force you but if you really want to protect the brides, I suggest that you do as I say. Otherwise, I'll give them something to really cry about." Nina just stares at Dayu trying to size her up, trying to think of another way out it but she knows she has limited options.

"Give me the samuraizer," she mutters angrily, and she motions for the moogers to let go of one of her arms before slapping it into her hand. "I'll call the red ranger and lead the team to your trap, but you have to promise to set the brides free and leave them unharmed!"

"You're just going to have to believe that I'll keep my word and do it anyways," Dayu replies as Nina flips open the samuraizer calling Jayden.

"Hey! Are you okay?" he asks immediately.

"I'm fine but I need your help freeing the brides. We're at warehouse thirty-two by the docks," she replies, making her hate how good she's become at lying.

"We're on our way," he replies before cutting the call.

"Good girl," Dayu commends, patting my head and taking the samuraizer again.

"What are you going to do to my friends?" Nina asks, worried.

"Hmm, let's just say in a few minutes all their dreams will come true. I mean, doesn't everyone want to be a firework?" She cackles. Oh no…

* * *

After a short silence Dayu says out of nowhere,

"Kaboom. If only you rangers learned earlier that you're no match for me," she tells Nina pretty happy with herself. "I haven't felt this great in a while. Look at all the crushed dreams and lost hope this beautiful gown symbolises. This bridal shower of tears is slowly filling the Sanzu river. Hmm," Dayu sighs kicking the purple ranger. "Moogers, get rid of her." However just as the moogers begin surrounding her Nina sees the lion folding zords flying towards her with the samuraizer. It must had pick it up from where Dayu put it down. It drops it in her hands before flying back to its owner; Jayden, fully morphed in the doorway with the rest of his team.

"What? How did you escape?" Dayu exclaims, flabbergasted. Her plan was supposed to be fool proof, but she turns as she hears the cocoon, she had for the brides breaking, revealing the yellow ranger and the rest of the brides who run out.

"You caught more samurai brides than you bargained for," Emily says in her gorgeous wedding dress.

"What? How?" She exclaims.

"Pretty easily actually. Double protection. Back up," Nina exclaims getting up as the moogers backup as the rangers get closer.

"Then who set off the warehouse?" Dayu asks.

"Boy you ask a lot of questions," Mike comments but Jayden replies nonetheless,

"Our doubles."

"You're dressing making days are over," Mia says to Dayu who suddenly regains composure.

"We'll see about that," she replies as the rangers head outside to fight, seeing if she'll follow. After a moment's hesitation, she does.

* * *

The rangers were winning their battle, all they had to do was defeat Dayu herself so Jayden pulled out the cannon blast mode fire smasher and after receiving the power discs from his team, fired the shot straight at Dayu. For a long moment it looks as though it's going to hit her, until a new Nighlok appears from seemingly nowhere to block their attack shocking the rangers. He doesn't say much except,

"You red ranger, will be Urumasa, my sword's greatest challenge."

He then walks away with Dayu, but not before calling forward more moogers.

* * *

On their walk back to the house they decided (well, Emily decided but no one disagreed) to stop by the bakery in the 3rd street promenade for cupcakes. The statement from that unknown Nighlok was still confusing Jayden, he couldn't stop thinking about it, but he wasn't going to let it spoil his mood. It was a victory after all, they saved all those brides.

"Nina, it was a really good plan calling out like that," Emily says, referring to how she had repeated Dayu's plan when asked to call Jayden, probably louder than necessary.

"I'm really just glad you heard me," Nina replies. "I seriously didn't know whether or not you could me, but I was hoping since I could her the brides you would be able to hear me. I would've hated to be the reason our team went boom."

"Well, you're the reason they didn't," Emily smiles. "Hey, Jayden, do you what type of cake you're getting?" She asks as her and Nina fall back to walk with him. Nina and Emily had been "arguing" on how gorgeous Emily looked in her dress. Emily knew the dress was gorgeous didn't think she did its justice while Nina told her the dress was basically made for her. Nina was going to use Jayden to prove to Emily she was stunning.

"Anything but wedding cake," he replies causing Emily to laugh.

"Ha, ha Jayden," Nina smiles shaking her head. "Also, how stunning was Emily in that wedding dress?" She says causing Emily to blush and if you looked close enough, Jayden too.

"Gorgeous." He says to her before continuing, "The dress was amazing on you. Both of you."

"Thank you," Nina smiles lightly at the compliment.

"You know this cupcake isn't in line with my samurai diet," Kevin sighs as they exit the bakery.

"I know Kevin but someone very wise once told me that a samurai without balance will fall," Jayden replies, glancing at Emily who smiles. The look doesn't go unnoticed by the purple ranger who suddenly remembers;

"Guys we didn't get one for Mentor."

"What flavour would he even want?" Mike asks, everyone turning to Jayden.

"Honestly, the only time I've really seen him eat cake was on our birthdays," he replies.

"Well you can't go wrong with vanilla," Nina says before turning back. "I'll get it," she smiles before heading back into the shop, quite content.

_**And there goes chapter seven! Imagine having to fake marry someone… that would be so strange… Anyways, slightly bad news, my Christmas chapter won't be out in time for Christmas **__**. I've already written it but where it's placed there's too much information you're still yet to discover and people you're yet to meet. Even if I uploaded every day for the Christmas week it wouldn't make it. It's okay though but if you would like me to upload every day of the Christmas week (from Sunday to Sunday (so you get Monday as a little break the following week), just PM/review to let me know and I can do that as a little Christmas gift to you (and don't worry about me not having time, they're all already written anyways so I'll get my break and still be working on much later chapters) Well, this was super lengthy so I'll stop writing now and potentially see you on Sunday (or Tuesday) and of course, thanks for reading! **_


	8. House of Hello

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 8: House of Hello**

It's been almost a month since Nina last saw Katie, and she feels awful about it. She intended to visit earlier but every time she does something always comes up, usually Nighlok and buy the time she's done showering and everything afterwards, it's too late to go there however she's showered, trained, done her school work, got mentor's permission and it's not even 12 yet.

"Are you going now?" Jayden asks as she leaves her room, he seems to have just come in from training as he's quite sweaty, his head matted to his forehead.

"Yeah, I feel bad since it's been so long though so hopefully cupcakes will be a nice gift."

"Everyone likes cupcakes, you'll be fine. I hope she's okay," he says, and Nina decides to reply cheekily,

"And I hope you take a shower." To which his mouth drops slightly. She opens the front door stepping out quickly as he replies trying not to smile,

"Careful, Nina." She just laughs before shutting the door. She's glad they're getting comfortable with each other to make jokes like that especially with Jayden as their leader. She's not sure if the others are quite at that level with him yet but she's glad she is… not that she was joking about that particular comment. He really did need a shower; he must have been training for a while.

* * *

After getting a cab, stopping for the cupcakes, she decides to walk the rest of the way to the palm woods. It wasn't a long walk. 15 minutes at most so she found herself walking past the pool into the lobby heading for the desk. She puts the bag down and rings the bell on the desk and a man comes rushing out from the door behind the desk.

"Hi, I don't think we've met. I'm Mr Bitters manager of this hotel," He says with so much enthusiasm it's probably fake. "Are you here to book a room?" he asks.

"No, sorry I'm just here to visit someone," she replies to which he physically deflates.

"Oh," he groans. "Well, I shouldn't really let you go up to someone's room if they're not expecting you."

"Would a cupcake help change your mind?" She asks lifting the bag and opening one of the boxes for him. He immediately grins.

"Oh, I like you!" He takes one and takes a huge bite, getting frosting on his face but he doesn't seem to care. "These are so good! Which room did you want again?"

"2J, I think."

"Why's a nice girl like you going up to see the four hockey heads?" He asks but she has no clue what he's talking about, so she just smiles awkwardly.

"I'm looking for Katie Knight."

"Oh, that one." He says darkly. "Yeah, that's the right place."

"Thank you," she smiles walking away, the boxes back in the bag.

"Feel free to come back anytime," he calls before biting back down into his cupcake. She just shakes her head, amused, heading for the lift when she sees someone entering carrying one too many bags. He's stumbling a bit with the weight of the brown bags, so she makes her way over to him just as a bag begins falling. She manages to catch it before any of its contents spills. She recognises the boy behind the bags. Kendall Knight.

"Thank you very much," he says once he sees her. He's taller than her, blonde. Green eyes. Bushy eyebrows. Quite handsome.

"I can help you carry this," she offers but just as he goes to decline the offer, another bag begins to fall which he barely manages to keep up.

"Yeah, okay, thanks," he smiles.

"Are you taking the elevator up?" She asks.

"Yeah," he says as they begin walk towards it. Nina presses the button. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Did you just move here?" He asks as they enter the elevator that just arrived.

"Not exactly. Which floor?"

"Two."

"Me too," she smiles pressing the button, the doors sliding shut.

"What do you mean not exactly?"

"I don't live here; I'm just visiting someone. But I did just move here, as in the states, or should I say back here, a couple of months ago," she says.

"Where were you before?"

"I went to a boarding school in Liverpool in England for the past two years."

"No way! That's so cool! I love England," he says as the doors open.

"Yeah, it's a pretty amazing place," Nina agrees as they walk out. "I wish I could go back sometimes," she sighs.

"Why don't you? Did you graduate already?" He asks.

"No, I'd be graduating this year, but I have this family tradition thing so I'm finishing online."

"Talk about coincidences, I'm graduating this year too!" He smiles, pausing before suddenly saying,

"Sorry if this is weird but now that I think about it you look kind of familiar. Were you at 3rd street promenade last week?" Nina thinks back to what happened last week and remembers that after Mia gave her new disc to Mike, they went out to eat to celebrate. Mia wanted to cook… but Ji conveniently "already" booked a table for them to eat out.

"Yeah actually I was! Tuesday?" she asks.

"Yeah! I'm pretty sure I saw you that day with your friends."

"You actually might have. Huh to think we could've met back then," she smiles as he stops in front of apartment 2J.

"Then I would've been getting help from a friend instead of a stranger." he smiles. "Well, this is me. Thank you so much for your help. Do you know where you're going?" He asks as they put down the bags.

"Well, actually this is me too. I'm here to see Katie."

"Wait are you Nina? As in the girl who saved my little sister's life?" Kendall asks, his eyes wide.

"Just Nina's okay but I guess," she smiles as the door opens wide.

"Hey, Kendall, I thought I heard -" Katie begins before seeing Nina.

"Oh my gosh, Nina!" She engulfs Nina into a hug which she returns, happy to see the 12-year-old.

"Hi Katie! Your leg! It's all better!"

"Yeah, you were right it wasn't a break. I don't think I could bare staying seated for much longer," she says time which Nina laughs.

"Really? I would think having everything done for you would be a blessing," she smiles.

"At first it was but then it just gets annoying when they start trying to get you to be healthy," she sighs to which the older girl just laughs. "Oh, and I see you've met Kendall. He's my big brother."

"Yeah, I helped him bring up your... groceries?" Nina says, not actually sure what's in the bags.

"Yes, she did, and I should probably take these in with the help of my little sister," Kendall says handing a bag to Katie before picking up the other two himself.

"This is the part I didn't miss," she mutters. "Come in, the others will be glad to see you."

Nina follows the two of them in, shutting the door the door behind her.

"Hi Kendall, did you - oh my, Nina is that you?" Mrs Knight says from behind the counter spotting the girl behind her kids, catching the attention of the other three boys.

"Yeah, hi, how are you?" she asks as Mrs Knight comes over to hug her.

"I'm great. We haven't seen you since the hospital though, how are you?" She asks pulling away.

"Yeah, I'm so sorry. I meant to come over earlier. I've been so busy, but I brought cupcakes," the dirty blonde girl said holding up the bag in left hand. "One is missing though; I gave one to the guy at the front desk to let me come up."

"That's Bitters," Katie says, as her mum takes the bag.

"Hi guys," Nina waves to the boys.

"You didn't have to get these, Nina. We're just glad you're here," Mrs Knight smiles.

"We told you she was awesome, Kendall," Carlos says trying but failing to be subtle; Nina feel heat in her cheeks she could only hope wasn't showing.

"How long can you stay this time?" Katie asks, dragging Nina to the couch.

"Until I'm called back or you kick me out," she replies as she sits down.

"Great because there's loads I want to do, starting," she says walking over to the TV cabinet, pulling out two controllers. "With video games." she says handing one over to Nina.

"Hmm, sure. It's been a while." Nina used to play a lot when Eddie was still here. He got her so into it she actually became pretty good. "What do you have?"

"How do you feel about…" she pauses looking through the games before picking one. "Crazy speed junkies." Nina smiles,

"You're on."

"Whoa, whoa, Katie you have to let us play!" James exclaims the four boys rushing over to the couch.

"Guys!" Katie whines.

"Katie, it's okay," Nina laughs as the boys cheer grabbing the other controllers. _How many do they have? _Nina wonders as they all squeeze themselves in front of the TV putting her between Katie and Carlos.

* * *

Nina doesn't even know how long they've been playing for but it's a great way to get to know people.

"No Nina! Stop it!" James yells, reaching his arm behind Carlos to hit Nina's controller. She moves it out of his reach.

"James!" She yells as Carlos and Kendall overtake her. She keeps tapping on Carlos' controller to distract him and he does it back, but she moves it out of his way passing him.

"Cheater!" He yells trying to overtake her again. Nina's car comes up close behind Kendall's who begins yelling,

"Nina stop! Stay away!"

He waves a hand in front of her face and she tries push it out of the way.

"Kendall!" Katie shouts as he blocks her view too.

"Sorry baby sis. Nina has to go down!" He exclaims just as Nina passes him just before the finish line.

"Yay!" Nina cheers holding her arms up victorious for the fifteenth time in a row as everyone else groans.

"Seriously what are you?" Logan asks.

"A video game wizard," she laughs putting the controller down. "But I feel like if we play again my thumbs will fall off." The others nod in agreement.

"So, Nina we don't actually know much about you," Carlos says.

"Except that you're English taught, great cupcake picking, people saving, video gaming legend," Kendall says.

"People saving?" Nina asks lightly but actually pretty worried. What does he mean?

"Katie," he replies reminding her.

"English taught?" Logan asks.

"I went to boarding school in England," she informs them.

"That's so cool! What was it like?" Carlos asks, going over to get a box of cupcakes. "Did you have tea and crumpets every morning?" He asks in an awful British accent.

"Was that supposed to be British?" Katie asks, as the others laugh.

"Sometimes, yeah but there were loads of other options. Our house mother cooked amazing food." Nina smiles sadly remembering the place with all her friends. Kendall seemed to notice her slight change in mood and changed the topic of conversation.

"Have you actually seen much else of the palm woods?" He asks her.

"No actually. It's my first time here but it looks great."

"Well, let's give you the grand tour," he says getting up with the others.

"Yeah, you're gonna love it!" Carlos exclaims.

"Don't be too long guys, dinners gonna be ready in like an hour," Mrs Knight says. "Nina can you stay for dinner?"

"You have to stay! It's fish stick Friday," Carlos tells her to which she laughs.

"Erm, sure why not but I should probably leave soon after."

"Alright then we're already behind on time," Logan announces as they begin walking towards the door.

"Just letting you know so you don't get your hopes up but I'll probably be the best looking thing you'll see around here," James tells her to which everyone just rolls their eyes except Nina who just laughs shaking her head.

* * *

After walking around and being introduced to a few of their friends (and possible enemies? It was hard) Nina and the others return to the apartment where Katie claims Nina. The girls find themselves in Katie's room just sitting on her bed.

"So, what do you wanna talk about? Is your leg really okay?" Nina asks.

"Yeah, it's fine. I mean I was afraid of walking on it at first but it's alright now," she replies but Nina doesn't say anything because it looks like she wants to say more. After a moment, she does. "It's just, that day when you found me… I was really scared that nobody would. I was - I just want to say thank you. Seriously Nina. Thank you." Nina smiles at her fondly.

"Katie, I'm glad I found you. You don't need to thank me."

"Okay so enough with the heavy stuff. When's the next time you're free?" She asks turning to Nina.

"Oh, I don't actually know. I'm usually kind of busy but I'll definitely visit before Christmas. Are you guys going anywhere?"

"We're planning on going back to Minnesota for Christmas actually," she says as someone knocks on the door. She gets up and opens it.

"Dinner's ready," one of the guys, Carlos, says.

* * *

Soon after they eat Nina realises the time and figures she should begin making her way back home, deciding to go by taxi. Kendall offers to take her down and show her where the taxis are as the others pack away.

"Thank you for having me over today. Sorry it was unannounced, I didn't have a way of calling and I promised Katie I would visit," Nina says as they approach the elevator. Kendall pushes the down button, turning to her as they wait for the doors to open.

"Are you kidding? It was great having you over _and _you brought cupcakes! You're welcome over anytime," he smiles as the doors open. They step into the lift, Kendall pressing the button for the ground floor.

"I'm glad. I had fun too. For a major boy band, you guys are pretty normal," she smiles.

"We were four hockey players first," he reminds her to which she smiles. "I don't know if I said it earlier, but I just wanted you to know I am so grateful that you saved my sister. I was honestly worried that we wouldn't find her so thank you so much."

"You're. Seriously, Katie's a great girl. I'm glad I was the one who found her," Nina replies earnestly as they step out of the lift.

"I am too," he replies. They walk in a comfortable silence as Kendall takes her to where she needs to be.

"Thank you so much," she smiles as they hail a taxi.

"No problem," he replies. "When will your next spontaneous visit be?"

"I honestly don't know but even if I did if I told you it wouldn't be spontaneous anymore."

"That's true…" he breathes.

"All I can say is it will probably be before Christmas so not too long," she tells him, as she opens the taxi door.

"Alright, I guess we'll see you then," he tells her, shutting her door for her.

"I guess so. Bye," she waves as Kendall steps back, waving. She already explained over dinner that her 'phone' (samuraizer, really) didn't work properly with new contacts so she couldn't give them her number or vice versa. It was a shame because they seemed very nice, but she really shouldn't be in much contact with them…

_**I'm so sorry I'm late! I was sick today, I hadn't even touched my laptop and Christmas Eve and Christmas are always super busy (and I also forgot earlier)! Anyways that's chapter eight out :) She finally got to meet Kendall! I hope you enjoyed it and as a little Christmas present (and an apology for being late) I'll upload another chapter tomorrow... technically later today since I'm in the UK (Either way it's Christmas!) and as usual thanks for reading!**_


	9. House of Leaders

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 9: House of Leaders**

It had only been a few days since Nina had been at the palm woods but apparently the Nighlok had decided not to give them a break since then. Every day since had been a new battle and today was no exception. Mia and Emily had gone shopping (Nina would've gone with them, but she had schoolwork to do). However, about an hour after they left the gap sensor began ringing and flashing throughout the house. Nina groaned, annoyed, before running out of her room to meet the guys in the living room.

"They're all around the city, standard and giant," Jayden informs her, seeing her enter. "Emily and Mia are already out there. Nina, you help them down there, Kevin, Mike and I will take on the giant moogers with the zords." She nods before they all run out.

They weren't being sexist when they separated into guys and girls; it was because the guys were the ones with the upgraded zords. Jayden had the Tiger disc for the tiger zord, Kevin had been able to claim the Swordfish Disc for the Swordfish zord a couple of weeks ago and it was only a few days after that that Mia had given Mike the Beetle Disc for the Beetle zord. When these three zords came together they could make the Samurai Battlewing, another megazord! They decided as a team that the guys were the best suited pilots for their respective discs.

"Why won't they let up?" Nina exclaims, slashing another Mooger with her spin sword before kicking another. She'd been fighting the seemingly infinite number of moogers for long enough that even the guys had come back from taking down the giant moogers for fighting alongside them now. They'd been able to get the moogers away from the civilians and into a dry field, but this didn't make it much easier. They just knew now they weren't terrorising innocent people. There were a couple of brave people that had tried to help the rangers fight the moogers earlier, two men, one significantly younger than the other, possibly just younger than Nina herself. However, while it was sweet and brave, it was also quite dangerous because it was clear they were inexperienced. Mia ended up having to save the younger one before getting them to leave.

The rangers followed their leaders lead and tried using their spin swords and discs to give themselves that extra advantage with power of their elements. It seems to work, knocking down all the moogers… until more come!

"What? I don't understand! How are there more?" Mike exclaims as the moogers come towards them again. They stay nearby each other but separate far enough to each have their own group to battle. However, just as the fight seems to be reaching its peak, the moogers battling relentlessly, a faint yet overpowering voice drifts seemingly over the wind, causing them to stop.

"Red ranger… red ranger…" It sounds so evil; it gives the rangers chills, but they don't have time to dwell on that because the moogers seem to be responding to the voice too.

"Guys! They want Jayden!" Mia yells, noticing all the moogers heading for their leader.

"We have to protect him!" Kevin tells the others, who rush forwards to circle the red ranger, fighting off any moogers that come towards him. However, while the team tried hard, a couple of moogers were able to slip past, Jayden having to take care of them himself.

"Guys, there's a new symbol combination I've been wanting to try out for a while now but there's never been a need to use it. Now's the time," Jayden tells them. He quickly grabs a sword from his closest teammate which happens to be Emily. She seems shocked at first but doesn't fight him. He places a disc on her sword before spinning it on her and his sword at the same time, swinging it around before yelling,

"Spin sword, blazing storm!" Luckily, the force of this strike wipes out all the moogers.

"Red ranger you're in danger…" the voice says before disappearing altogether.

"What was that voice?" Nina asks, demorphing with the others.

"I don't know. It sounded so evil!" Emily replies.

"Jayden, that wasn't a normal Nighlok was it?" Nina asks, turning to their leader who shakes his head.

"I think that was Master Xandred."

"Are you being serious? Master Xandred as in lord of the Nighlok? You think he's back?" Kevin asks.

"What I want to know is why the ruler of all Nighloks only wants you? Why was he just calling red ranger?" Mike asks. Jayden's eyes roam over his team before he exhales, knowing they need to get home immediately. They need to talk.

* * *

Once they arrived back home, it didn't take long for all the rangers to settle in the living room with Mentor Ji. There were many unspoken questions running through everyone's minds, but no body spoke until,

"Jayden, Master Xandred must know," Mentor Ji says.

"Must know what?" Mike asks, his brow furrowing. He promised Nina not to ask about their secrets so as much as he wanted to, he didn't, but if the Nighlok already knew wasn't it safer for them, his teammates to know too?

"There's a symbol which can create a seal to imprison Master Xandred. The previous red ranger used it to seal him, because when he last attacked, we weren't ready for it; we were almost defeated. The seal is how Jayden's father was about to trap Xandred away last time." Ji looks around at all of them, his eyes resting on Nina for a moment before Mike speaks.

"So, it's down to Jayden?"

"Only members of the Shiba family can use the seal, yes."

"Your father did everything he could to save us," Emily breathes, acknowledging the fact that Jayden had to lose his father to save the whole world.

"He did," Nina nods, looking straight at Jayden. "We'll make sure it wasn't in vain." The rest of the team nod in agreement.

* * *

Nina was slightly annoyed when the gap sensor rang again later that day. Of course, she knew that being a ranger came first but she was a little bit behind with her schoolwork because she didn't quite understand some of her work and she just wanted the rest of the day to attempt to catch up.

"Where's the red ranger?" The Nighlok called as they reached the quarry. Jayden stepped forward, making himself known. "Boss heard you've got a big trick your sleeve. We don't like that, so I'm gonna have to destroy you. Sorry," he shrugs before jumping down from the ledge he was on before.

"You're sorry? We'll show you who's gonna be sorry!" Jayden yells but the Nighlok just laughs. Jayden starts forwards but Kevin pulls him back.

"This is exactly the type of battle you should be avoiding," he says, "Let us protect you!" Jayden ignores him running forwards to attack the Nighlok.

"Go, go samurai!" He yells, drawing him symbol to morph.

"Yes! Try and fight me! When they ask who it was that defeated the red ranger, tell them it was Robtish!"

"He won't listen," Mia sighs but Nina steps forward drawing her samuraizer out.

"Were you really expecting him to sit back and let us do all the work? Let's just go and help him." The rangers morph before running forwards to help Jayden. Unfortunately, but expectedly, moogers appear, blocking their path. They each fight their group of moogers trying to finish them off so they could go and help their leader.

Jayden's luck wasn't any better than the rest of his team. He was fighting the Nighlok at the top of a cliff but the Nighlok was cornering him. He kept fighting but he was coming close to the edge of the cliff one more hit from the Nighlok and he would fall… and that's exactly what happened!

"No!" Emily yelled seeing their leader land near her. He groaned on the ground as the Nighlok jumped down. Nina and Kevin who were also close by heard the extra commotion and saw their leader on the ground. Seeing that the Nighlok was preparing to attack him again when they were down, the two of them rushed forwards to help Emily however Nina was pulled back by more moogers, trying to prevent her from helping them. Seeing her fellow rangers fall in front of her sparked something Nina. She placed a disc on her spin sword, spinning it to take down the remaining moogers.

Mike and Mia stepped in front of their fallen teammates, the purple ranger making her way over to join them in protecting the others helping Jayden to his feet. However, just as he gets up a new yet familiar Nighlok appears, unexpectedly striking her with such force that she flies back, landing so far and hard that she demorphs, losing consciousness - Deker.

"No!" Jayden exclaims, quickly picking up his sword, seeing that the last two of his standing teammates have also been taken down by Robtish. Luckily, they're still conscious but clearly, not ready to fight. Jayden picks up one of their fallen swords to fend off the two Nighloks.

"Two against one. This is hardly a fair fight," he says, blocking an attack from Deker who in turn is hit by Robtish, confusing Jayden. It seemed like all of them were in fact having a two against one fight. While both Jayden's current enemies were Nighlok, they seemed to also be fighting each other…

"The red ranger is my opponent. Leave him," Deker says, swinging his sword at Robtish, who dodges and goes to attack Jayden instead who blocks him with his sword.

"Master Xandred sent me to destroy the red ranger!" Robtish exclaims, clearly angry that someone else was trying to take his fight. The three-way fight, continues for a couple of minutes, no one really seeming to win until Robtish groans, "Ugh, I'm drying out!" When the Nighlok goes back through a gap Jayden turns back to Deker.

"We will fight, red ranger but not today. You're weak. I need to battle you at your best," Deker tells him before walking away. Jayden wanted to go after him, but his priority was his teammates. Mike and Mia were already checking on them, Mike over with Nina who still wasn't waking up. Emily and Kevin seemed to be coming too, luckily but they were clearly injured. Mike had his samuraizer out; he was calling Mentor Ji.

* * *

When Nina finally woke up, there was a throbbing pain at the back of her head. She groaned, turning away from the light, which seemed to be making the pain worse. It took her a couple of moments before she realised where she was. She squinted her eyes, turning her head to see Emily and Kevin on the hospital room beds next to her. They were asleep. She knew they weren't at an actual hospital - it would be too complicated, and Mentor Ji was qualified. Besides them, the room was deserted. She figured she should try to find Jayden, if it was her, she would feel pretty bad about her teammates getting injured trying to protect her, so she wanted to see if he was alright. Sitting up was a bit dizzying and she took a few minutes to steady herself before getting up and walking out of the room slowly. She could hear Mike and Mia in the kitchen, but she walked past the room - she'd talk to them afterwards. She can see both the indoor and outdoor dojos are empty, so she goes to his room.

"Jayden?" she calls, knocking on his door. "Jayden, it's Nina. Please talk to me." Mentor Ji must have heard her because she turns to see him coming down the corridor.

"Nina, what are you doing out of bed? You should be resting," he scolds her, but she doesn't really acknowledge it.

"I will but where's Jayden?"

"I thought he was training," Mentor says furrowing his brow, but Nina shakes her head.

"The dojos are empty and he's not answering his door." Ji knocks on the door before opening it and finding the room empty. "He's gone."

"Okay Nina we don't know that, but we'll deal with it in the morning. You need to rest," he tells her, shutting the door before guiding her back to the room.

"What even happened? Why does my head hurt?" She asks him as they walk.

"When you were at the quarry a Nighlok, Deker, unexpectedly appeared and hit you. You flew back quite far and hit your head. Luckily your helmet protected you, so you only have a mild concussion but you're not helping yourself worrying about Jayden. Rest now, we'll deal with that later."

* * *

Jayden didn't return the following morning but when the gap sensor rang later in the day the rangers knew they had to go, with their leader or without. Emily was quite bruised, and Kevin had had his arm in a sling, but they were otherwise fine. However, as rangers, this didn't stop them from joining the fight. As they arrived at the park, they saw the red ranger already there, protecting a group of kids who were trying to run away. The Nighlok from the day before, Robtish, had returned, apparently to finish the job. The rangers helped him quickly, taking on the moogers the Nighlok called forth once they arrived. While it was clear the Nighlok was here for Jayden, his team made it known that they were together and were always going to protect each other. They finished off the Nighlok with their five-disc cannon.

"Nice work, Kevin!" Emily cheered as they walked back home. While defeating the Nighlok in the megazord wasn't easy, Kevin had come up with a plan to merge the Battlewing and the Megazord, creating the Battlewing Megazord! It was amazing! Of course, coming up with new battle strategies is what Kevin would do when he was injured and although Mike made fun of him for it, it worked.

"Yeah, you did great," Jayden nods.

"Well we couldn't have done it without you Jayden," Kevin says to which Mia nods.

"He's right. We need you Jayden and we get that you want to protect us but it's our job to protect you too. That's what makes us a team," she says. Jayden agrees with them, apologising for leaving. While Nina was upset with him leaving in the first place, she's glad that he's back.

_**Chapter numero nuit is done did. (Yikes these are just getting worse.) Anyways, Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Holidays! Whatever you're celebrating (Christmas for me!) I hope you have a wonderful day and know that, while I may not know you personally, I am thinking of you and this is my (pretty terrible but heartfelt **__**) gift to you. See you on Friday (I'll actually be on time this time!) and thanks for reading**_


	10. House of Arrivals

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 10: House of Arrivals**

"Okay, now the universe is just saying 'no' to me," Nina whines while the others laugh at her. She had been very strict with herself on time, waking up earlier than the others to squeeze in schoolwork so she could train with them later in the morning. This also usually resulted in her going to bed later than the others. Of course, it was hard, but she was the one who wanted it all, so she made herself put in the work but when the gap sensor went off without reason…

"Aww it's alright Neens," Mike laughs. "I'm sure you'll have time when we get back. Coming all the way over here for no reason must count as our morning training, right?"

"No way, Mike," Kevin scolds. "As a samurai, we must always be ready. If anything, this is more reason to train once we get back." This sentence starts a playful argument across the whole team.

"Is that an arrow?" Nina asks, as the team approaches the Shiba house. She run towards, without waiting for a reply from any of her teammates. "Whoa, this really smells like fish!" She steps back a bit, shocked by the sudden smell before grabbing the arrow, which has a tag attached.

"See you soon? What does that mean?" She asks turning to Jayden. "Are we expecting anyone?"

"Not that I'm aware of…"

* * *

Later that same day, the ranger found themselves morphed in a forest battling a Nighlok called Vulpes. While investigating what set off the gap sensor Emily and Mike were able to come across a fisherman whose handwriting matched that of the writing on the arrow. Jayden on the other hand had stayed at home, trying to what presence was in the house. No one else knew what he was talking about, but he seemed so sure, so they left him to figure it out. It turned out that what he was sensing was in fact the Nighlok they were currently facing; he was trying to figure out was the sealing symbol was by using a mirror (which Jayden broke) as his medium. Unfortunately, the rangers were struggling to take out the Nighlok and moogers. They seemed to be getting stronger! So much stronger that the rangers ended up demorphing.

"Guys, how are we going to do this?" Mike asked just as the fisherman guy from earlier appeared, running down the pathway. However, he doesn't stop to talk to them, he just simply pulls out a morpher, morphing into the gold ranger! He takes out the moogers with blinding speed, surprising even Vulpes. It doesn't take too long before he is able to defeat the Nighlok even in his enlarged form! It's when the Nighlok is defeated that they get time to talk to this mysterious gold ranger.

"That was amazing!" Mia exclaims as he walks towards them still morphed.

"Where did you come from?" Nina asks in awe.

"Who are you?" Jayden asks suspiciously. The gold ranger laughs before dropping his morph.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten about me?"

"What? Do you know him?" Emily asks, turning to Jayden who seems to be in shock like the rest of them. Just a different kind.

"Actually, yeah. I do. This is Antonio Garcia. He was my best friend."

* * *

Back the Shiba mansion, Antonio and most of the other rangers begin pitching a case of why he should join the Samurai team. Antonio and Jayden were childhood friends but when Antonio had to move away Jayden gave him the Octozord, against Ji's wishes. What they didn't know is that since then Antonio had been training himself to be a Samurai.

"I thought the zords could only understand people with Samurai heritage," Emily says.

"That's why I built my morpher. I found a broken cell phone and figured I could communicate with it through text," Antonio explains.

"Wait, you _built _your morpher from a broken cell phone?" Nina asks to which he nods.

While this was very impressive, Mentor still decided to confiscate Antonio's morpher, claiming that he lacks discipline and true samurai training, Jayden ultimately agreeing with him.

* * *

After Antonio left the house quite upset, the rangers found themselves called to battle by a Nighlok called Steeleto. It turns out that Vulpes was his best friend and he has no come to avenge him. Once again, the rangers struggle to defeat the Nighlok, only getting away because Steeleto begin to dry up. On their way back to the Shiba mansion the rangers, minus Jayden and Nina unanimously decide that Nina should be the one to talk to Jayden about Antonio.

"You guys, I don't-" she begins but they push her forwards, so she walks into him, almost tripping.

"Whoa, Nina are you alright?" He asks, helping her steady herself.

"Yeah sorry about that," she says glaring back at the others which doesn't go unnoticed by Jayden. He looks back confused but doesn't say anything, even when the Mike looks away very obviously.

"So, about Antonio," she says but Jayden's already shaking his head. "Wait, wait just hear me out." He exhales lightly before looking at her, waiting for her to continue. "I know that he wasn't trained like the rest of us and maybe he doesn't know as much as the rest of us and as your friend, you would want to protect him," she begins. "But Jayden, look at what happened yesterday and today and possibly tomorrow too. The Nighlok are getting stronger every day and yeah, we're trying, and we will get stronger too but Antonio's willing to help us. He's proven he is capable, and we need all the help we can get if we're going to defeat Master Xandred and all the Nighlok before him. We can train him too. It won't be easy, but he's shown he wants to help us to he'll have to put in the work. Please Jayden, we need him." He doesn't say anything at first, they just continue walk then he turns around.

"Mike, Emily, do you guys remember where you found Antonio the first time?"

"Yeah, he was by the pier," Emily tells him.

"Could you guys go and see if you can find him there now. Tell him to come to the house."

"Are you serious?" Mike asks and Jayden nods. "Alright! We're on it!"

* * *

Antonio was slightly reluctant at first, but he eventually gave in when the gap sensor went off again. Mentor gave him, his morpher back and he went and helped the team defeat Steeleto, even merging the Octozord with the megazord! Once they got home, they celebrated his arrival to the team as the seventh samurai by having a barbeque in the back, where Antonio barbequed some fish, he had caught for them team.

_**Chapter ten yay! Finally reaching double digits! I know, I know this chapter was super short, but I couldn't change too much since I had to bring in Antonio and I couldn't think of what to do. Anyways, the next chapter is longer than this anyways. I think it's longer than the usual length but of course, thanks for reading **_


	11. House of Messages

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 11: House of Messages**

Nina didn't always use her laptop. She usually preferred to use her textbooks when she was doing work because they were easier to get up and she was way less likely to get distracted when she did; she would often end up going on to the school website. However today she was using her laptop because there were a couple of sheets of work that she had lost which she needed to reprint. Logging into her email was something she usually avoided because there were usually emails from her friends in school which she knew she couldn't reply to. However, that was where her sheets were, so she had no choice today but upon opening her email she found messages from everyone; Fabian (there were a lot from him), the rest of Sibuna, even from Jerome, Joy and Mara! They weren't recent though… except one. Most of them were from early in September when she had emailed Eddie about the letter. The others must have seen it and realised that she could still use it. They stopped a couple of weeks ago, around mid-October when they probably realised that she wasn't going to answer them. No matter how tempted she was she wasn't even going to open them. She saw a few words that kept popping up 'KT', 'New American,' 'Miss you'. She couldn't open them… except for one.

It came from a few days ago and she was going to ignore it, how she ignored the others until she saw who it was from. Eddie. This was weird. She hadn't heard from him in a few weeks (he was still her Osirian so it helped ease his mind to know that she was okay and just to have an occasionally check-up… they were also best friends) so she wouldn't have been surprised to see the email if it wasn't for the fact that it was _this _email. She had made another email account with a fake name which she had shared with Eddie alone. This was the email that they were supposed to use to keep in touch with each other just in case somebody at Anubis house somehow logged into his laptop. The email she sent about the letter was her own mistake. However, the subject of the letter simply read 'URGENT!' She had to open this one but when she did there wasn't much to see except, 'Check your email.' She furrowed her brow before going back to her inbox as she heard movement outside her door. She typed in the name of the documents she needed before scrolling down to open and print it. She would check her other email afterwards.

* * *

The printer was in the living room so after sending everything she needed to print she got up and left to collect them. As she walked past the kitchen, she saw Mike and Antonio inside, Antonio trying to cook and Mike trying to help but also messing around a bit, walking past the indoor dojo she saw Kevin and Mia, sitting on the floor just talking. Clearly, they were taking a break from sparring because Nina could see them sweating. She reached the living room, walking straight to the printer just as the front door opened, a deep laugh sounding throughout the room as Jayden and Emily entered the house both carrying bags.

"Did you really?" Jayden asks, shutting the door with his foot, continuing an earlier conversation.

"Yeah, I was terrified! I didn't know what else to do," she laughs.

"Hey guys," Nina smiles as they stepped into the room. It hadn't finished printing yet.

"Oh, hi Nina," Emily replies, still smiling. Emily and Jayden often went to get the groceries together. Seeing all the pairings around the house Nina was glad that her teammates were bonding.

"Hey," Jayden says, stepping closer, looking at what she's printing. "School?" He questions.

"Yeah. History. I lost a few," she explains. He just nods.

"Right, well we should take this to the kitchen. I think Antonio's waiting."

"He is," the gold ranger calls, causing the three to laugh. The red and yellow rangers leave Nina in the living room. Nina finishes collecting her now printed out sheets before going back to her room.

* * *

"Ugh," Nina groans, throwing her head down onto her desk.

"That doesn't sound good," a feminine voice says behind her. Nina lifts her head turning to look at the source even though she already knew who it was. "Sorry for barging in," Emily says shutting the door behind her.

"Don't worry about it. I could use a break. What's up? You seem quite smiley," Nina notes going to join Emily sitting on her bed. As much as Nina liked having the room to herself sometimes, she wished she could share with the others (which is possibly linked to why she sometimes, today, leaves her door open). She doesn't mind too much though. She likes this room.

"Do I really?" She asks reaching up touch her cheeks.

"Yeah, what happened?" Nina asks intrigued. It wasn't much because Emily was always smiley, but it was a _little _bit more than usual. Only someone who sees her practically every day would even notice.

"Okay so I haven't told anyone else yet but," she leans forwards before whispering, "Mike asked me out on a date."

"What?" Nina whisper shouts. "No way! When? Just now?" Emily nods.

"Yeah, Jayden and I stayed in the kitchen for a bit after we dropped off the things, just talking with the others then Jayden and Antonio went out to the back and we were just talking then he asked me with I would like to go out with him, like on a date," she explains.

"Then what?" Nina asks, eager to know more.

"I asked where and he told me, maybe he could take me to an arcade which I laughed at." Nina laughed at this too; of course, Mike would take a girl to an arcade on their first date. Nina had to admit it did sound like a fun idea though. "I told him, I'll think about it and now we're here."

"So… do you want to go on the date?"

"I don't know. I mean I like spending time with him, he's nice and funny but I don't know if I want to date him. What do you think I should do?"

"Well, I'm not an expert but if you're not sure, I'd say go on the date. See how you feel about it. You never know how it could turn out," Nina advises.

"Thank you, Nina," Emily smiles hugging her.

"Of course!"

"So, what about you?" Emily asks pulling back. Nina laughs as she gets up, walking over to her desk.

"What about me?" She's completely out of lined paper!

"Are you crushing on someone right now?"

"On top of training and schoolwork I don't really have time to be crushing on anyone right now." She walks over to her door to grab her jacket before pulling the door open.

"Anyone? Not even Jayden?" Nina doesn't get to reply because somebody else does.

"What about me?" The brown haired, blue eyed guy asks, stopping by the door. He must've been walking past but now they've drawn attention to themselves. Why did she have to open the door?

"Oh, I haven't spoken to anyone, one on one in a while, not even you," Nina says. It's a terrible lie (which is annoying because usually she's a pretty good liar), she knows, and he'll probably ask her about it later but right now she needs to leave. "Anyways, I'm completely out of paper so I'm quickly gonna go and buy some if that's alright."

"Yeah sure, do you mind if I come with you? I forgot to buy something for Mentor earlier," he says as Nina puts on her jacket. It was early November now, so it was beginning to get cold.

"Of course," she smiles as he goes to get his jacket from his room. Nina walks back over to her bed where Emily is still sitting, smiling. "Stop smiling as though you're all innocent."

"What? Now you get to talk one on one," Emily jokes causing Nina to hit her with a pillow which Emily grabs as Jayden comes back to the door.

"Are you ready?" He asks to which Nina jumps up.

"Yup, let's go." As she walks out of the room, she turns back to shake her head at Emily.

* * *

Nina was correct in thinking that Jayden was going to ask what they were really talking about, so she just played it off as girl talk. Of course, it worked; guys _never _wanted to know what happened in girl talk (even though they all secretly do).

"So how do you feel about Antonio being back? From when you were younger, I mean?" Nina asks him as they walk. It may not have been the actual thing her and Emily were talking about, but she wasn't lying when she said that they hadn't had any one on one time in a while, so this was nice.

"Honestly, it just feels kind of surreal. Like when you came, I couldn't believe it. I'm glad though. I really wasn't expecting to see him again. Not like this at least."

"It's good that you're happy. It's not every day that friends come back, especially with lives like ours," Nina muses, thinking about her friends in England. She wishes she could've at least said bye…

"Your boarding school was in England, right?" Jayden asks, as though he could hear what she was thinking.

"Yeah. It looked like Hogwarts," she smiles, remembering her first day. It wasn't particularly pleasant at the time but looking back, she wouldn't change anything… except maybe the sweater she wore. She'd wear one that doesn't shrink when wet.

"Do you miss your friends from there?" He asks. She nods.

"Of course. I was only there for two years but we went through a lot together. I met some pretty amazing people," she says smiling fondly.

"Tell me about them." Nina looks up at him, smiling softly; he seemed genuinely interested. He was a bit taller than her, enough that she had to look up. _How tall was he actually?_ She wondered.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I want to know."

"Alright but remember that you asked for this," she says to which he laughs. "There were nine, well actually if I include teachers, eleven, wait twelve," she says, pausing to count on her fingers before just saying "there were quite a few people. Should I start with teacher, girls or guys?"

"Let's start with teachers," he says, smiling at her energy. She couldn't help it! She loved to talk about people important to her.

"Alright, well we'll just do four of those. Mr Sweet, we just called him Sweetie but never to his face, intentionally," she adds remembering that one time Alfie accidently did. "He was the head teacher and a science teacher. He was an interesting man. He could be really sweet, hence the name but he earned his place as head teacher for a reason.

"Then there was Mrs Andrews, she was our English and French teacher. She was strict but in a good way. She also clearly loved being a teacher. She cared about us students. And there was Trudy who wasn't really a teacher, but our house mother at Anubis house."

"Anubis? As in the Egyptian god of death?" Jayden asks.

"Yeah, the school loved ancient Egypt." Jayden had no idea just how much. "When I tell you her cooking and baking was legendary, I'm not kidding. She was so kind as well. The last is also not a teacher. He was actually the housekeeper or caretaker, Victor. Every night he would stand in the foyer and say in his deep voice 'it's ten o'clock! You have five minutes precisely then I want to hear a pin drop,' then he would actually drop his pin to see if he could hear it. If he couldn't we'd get into huge trouble. He was actually very scary yet somehow, I still miss him. I guess because even though he and his stuffed raven were very creepy, he actually wasn't a bad person. He was just a bit misguided.

"Now we'll move onto the girls. First, there was my roommate and best friend Amber Millington. At first, I didn't think we'd be as close as we were; she was very girly and pink and fluffy but as we spent more time together I realised there was so much more to her than just that and she's actually a very good friend.

"Then another one of my best friends was Patricia Williamson. She is a tough girl, kind of snarky at first and honestly still once you know her," Nina laughs causing Jayden to smile too. "But she is very loyal. She'd do almost anything for her friends. She kind of hated me at first because a misunderstanding but she warmed up to me eventually."

"What did you do?" Jayden asks, intrigued.

"Nothing! It was just bad timing. I arrived the day one of her best friends, Joy, went missing."

"Missing?" He asks, his brow furrowing as they enter the town centre. It was kind of late so the stores would be shutting soon.

"Yeah, her dad had randomly pulled her out of school for some weird ceremony, but they left all her stuff behind, so we thought she'd been kidnapped, and the school were covering it up."

"Sounds fun," he laughs.

"It wasn't but anyways. Mara Jaffray was another one of the girls who lived there. She was really smart and one of the first students to be kind to me there. We didn't talk much which was sad, but she was really sweet anyways which just leaves Joy. We had an interesting relationship because she came back for second year, but she thought I was replacing her. It was… complicated because she also had a crush on my boyfriend at the time." Nina says kind of rushing at the end as she feels rather than sees Jayden look at her.

"You have a boyfriend?" He asks, curiously.

"Had. Past tense."

"What happened? Did he do something?" He asks her as they approach the shop where she was going to get her lined notebook.

"No… I had to stay here. Join the team," she says, finding the right aisle.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he tells her genuinely, once again kind of surprising her. The reason it surprised her wasn't that she thought Jayden was difficult to talk to - because he wasn't - it was just Nina didn't think he would want to know about this stuff. It was a surprise but a good one.

"Don't be. The last time I saw him was over four months ago and we were friends first and I would tell you about him now but," she says pulling up her sleeve to look at her watch, "I think the store you're looking for shuts in about ten minutes. You go there and I'll meet you back here."

"You're right!" He exclaims realising the time, "I'll be back in a minute." She laughs as he leaves quickly before turning to walk further down, almost walking into someone.

"I'm so sorry," she says before looking up and seeing familiar green eyes. "Kendall."

"Nina, hey. What are you doing out this late?" He asks smiling at her, he was almost the same height as Jayden. She reaches beside him to grab some the notepad she was looking for before holding it up.

"Paper. I'm out," she says.

"Home-schooling right," he nods.

"Why are _you _out so late?" She asks, walking with him to whatever aisle he's going to.

"We just found out my mum's day long fake marriage was invalid and got a princess to marry the guy she really loves instead of James so we're celebrating," he explains, grabbing a couple of bags of crisps. Nina just says,

"And I thought my life was complicated." She doesn't even bother to ask for an explanation. "The others are around here somewhere too. We split up to go to different shops since our time was limited," he explains as they walk over to the tills to pay.

"Fair enough," she nods as they're called forwards to pay. "So, what else have you been up to apart from fake marriages?"

"Are you paying together or separately?" The cashier asks. She got long dark hair, tied up in a ponytail and light blue eyes. She's very pretty. Her name tag reads Michelle.

"Separately," Nina says at the same time Kendall says,

"Together." He turns to her grabbing the notepad. "I got this."

"What no, Kendall you don't need to do that," she says but he doesn't listen. He hands the girl the money once she scans the items before handing it back to Nina. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiles. Chivalry is not dead; Nina thinks to herself as the girl hands Kendall his change.

"Excuse me," the girl, Michelle, says before they can turn to leave. "You're Kendall Knight from Big Time Rush, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am, Michelle," he smiles at her kindly. The stores going to be closing in a couple of minutes, so they are the only people left around, expect for a couple of people at the back.

"Could I take a picture with you?" She asks hopefully and nervously.

"Of course! Do you have a camera?" He asks her. He seems so natural at it, Nina wonders how often it happens. She doesn't know if she could ever get used to that. Michelle pulls out her phone, before taking off her work jacket to reveal a pretty top beneath.

"Do you want me to take the photo?" Nina offers to which Michelle nods handing her her phone. Kendall wraps an arm around her shoulders while she puts an arm around his waist; it's cute. She takes a couple of shots before noticing Kendall's still holding his bag. "I'll hold these." She reaches out and takes them before taking a couple more photos. "Alright, here you go. I hope they're okay," she says handing Michelle her phone back as she scrolls through them, grinning from ear to ear.

"They're perfect! Thank you so much, both of you," she says as Nina hands Kendall his bags back.

"It was great meeting you, Michelle. Have a great day," he waves as they leave.

"You too," she replies before coming to shut the door.

"Does that happen often?" Nina asks once they're outside the shop.

"People asking for pictures. Yeah, kind of but I don't mind too much. I'm glad they like our music," he replies.

"That's really sweet," she tells him to which he just smiles. "But you didn't answer my question earlier. What else have you guys been up to?"

"Well, our manager, Gustavo, is planning on writing a new song so hopefully we'll be recording again soon. Apart from that I really don't know what's been happening. One of us does something dumb and we usually spend the rest of the day trying to sort it out. It's surprisingly fun."

"Kendall!" A familiar voice yells, running up to the duo. Nina turns to see the helmet wearing member of the band. "Nina! Hi!" He exclaims, noticing her for the first time before hugging her, lifting her off the ground.

"Whoa! Hi Carlos," she laughs at his hyperactivity as he puts her down.

"I got the drinks," he tells Kendall, holding up the cans of soda. "Anyway, what were you guys talking about?"

"Just how it sounds like things are going good for you. I'm glad." Nina tells him.

"Yeah they are," Carlos replies before leaning forwards, blocking Kendall from seeing his mouth with his hand and whispering to Nina "Maybe except in the romance department. He and his girlfriend broke up a couple of months ago. He was shattered,"

"Carlos!" Kendall exclaims obviously having heard.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Nina says awkwardly but really feeling bad for him.

"Don't worry about it," he says, glaring at Carlos. "I'm good now anyways."

"Good," she smiles.

"What about you Nina? Any special guy?" Carlos asks, shocking Nina. She wasn't expecting that.

"Carlos! Stop!" Kendall exclaims at his friend again.

"It's alright but no. There's no 'special guy'," she tells him, blushing.

"So, when are you coming over again?" Carlos asks, as though he didn't just embarrass his friends. It kind of made Nina want to laugh.

"Honestly, I don't know if I'll be free until around Christmas," she sighs.

"Christmas? Why?" Carlos exclaims, Kendall looking slightly disappointed too.

"Things have just been really busy. I'm behind on my schoolwork because I've been stuck on something for these past few weeks, the whole family tradition thing is getting harder and I'm just all over the place. I'm really sorry."

"Yikes, that sounds like a lot. I hope you're able to get through it all," Kendall replies.

"Me too," she sighs. "I will definitely be over for around Christmas at least. I know you guys are meant to be going to Minnesota," she says as she feels someone come to stand by her. She looks to see Jayden.

"Oh hey, you're back," she smiles.

"Yeah, I got it," he replies.

"Erm, guys this is my friend Jayden. Jayden, you remember I told you about Katie, well this is Kendall her older brother and his friend Carlos," she says introducing them as Jayden puts out his hand for them to shake.

"You guys are from Big Time Rush, right? One of our friends listens to your music while she cooks. You're good," Jayden compliments.

"Thank you so much," Kendall replies.

"It was great seeing you guys, but we should probably start heading back," Nina tells them.

"You're right, it is kind of late," Kendall agrees.

"It was great meeting you guys," Jayden smiles.

"You too," Kendall replies.

"Bye guys! Tell the others I say hi and sorry," she says as she begins walking away with Jayden.

"We will, bye Nina! Bye Jayden!" Carlos waves.

* * *

Luckily, Jayden didn't question her too much about the guys. He just wanted to ensure she was being careful which of course she was. She knew that now she knew Katie was alright she shouldn't really be seeing them anymore… but they were already expecting to see her again. After that though, she didn't plan on going over again. She knew she shouldn't it was for all their safety.

"So, your ex-boyfriend…" Jayden begins, clearly wanting her to continue their earlier conversation.

"Fabian Rutter. He was so sweet from the beginning. He was such a good friend, always helping me and others and he was really smart too. I do miss him but honestly not as a boyfriend. I miss him as a friend which is weird but maybe we're better off like this." Jayden doesn't say anything to this, he just lets her continue.

"During first year, his roommate was Mick Campbell. He was an athlete and I really didn't talk to him much at all, but he was nice enough.

"There was also Alfie Lewis. He was like a little brother. He was always so playful and energetic. Sometimes it got annoying, but he meant well. He wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone else intentionally.

"Then there was his partner in crime Jerome Clarke. Jerome was… interesting. He was a very mischievous guy. He did care about people, but he didn't like to let it show. A lot of the time he would get bored and do things to mess with others, or he would blackmail us but honestly, I just think he was lonely sometimes. I didn't realise at the time but looking back Alfie started hanging out with us more than him and even when he did, he would be quite secretive about what was happening. Either way, I do miss him, regardless of how annoying he could be.

"And last but not least we have Eddie Miller. Technically it's Edison Sweet, his dad is Mr Sweet, the headteacher but either way he prefers Eddie. He's one of my best friends. It was weird because when he first came during the second year, we were the only two Americans in the house, but we didn't actually talk that much. Then towards the end of the year something happened, and we realised we had a lot more in common than we thought. Then during the summer, we hung out a lot because it turned out he lived not too far from me and we just became very close," Nina says fondly… also remembering she hadn't yet opened his email. Noticing the look, she was getting from Jayden she added. "We're just friends though. Really good friends."

"Okay," he replies, smiling at her response.

* * *

Once Nina got back to the house, she went straight to her room to quickly check her secret email. She hadn't checked it in a few weeks but there weren't too many messages, she opened them all, some of them, telling her about what's been going on in Anubis house (Amber left!), some telling her about her friends, some about Patricia, some about a new girl KT who was apparently her replacement, (she knew it was a joke but at the same time it slightly hurt but clearly he hadn't forgotten about her which she was glad for. Not that she was ever worried he would) however the most recent one was asking her how she was. He didn't know why but his _Osirian senses were tingling and they're saying something's wrong. Please let me know you're alright. The sensation to come back is getting stronger. _Looking at the date she realises it must've been from when she had her concussion. While it was only mild, going into battle the next day didn't help her at all. The next couple of days consisted of the hospital room and this (horrible) chicken and mushroom soup that Mia had kindly made her.

"Knock, knock," Emily says, standing by her open door. She probably should've have shut it for when she was emailing Eddie, but the email was sent so she just closed her tab and shut her laptop before turning to the other blonde.

"Hey," she smiles, getting up.

"Dinner's ready," the yellow ranger replies causing Nina to hesitate which she notices. "Antonio and Mike cooked it."

"Great because I'm starving!"

"Was your one on one talk that exhausting?" Emily asks innocently.

"First of all, our one on one talk was great and secondly, I do not have a crush on Jayden," Nina says whispering her second point, but Mia was in the kitchen when they entered.

"Who has a crush on Jayden?" She asks, turning to face the other two girls causing Nina to bury her head in her hands as she sat down. The girls probably weren't sleeping tonight.

_**Whoa chapter eleven is done and so is 2019! That was our final chapter for the **_**year**_**! For the **_**decade**_**! That so crazy! Anyways so this chapter was a lot longer than I remembered but oh well! Bonding with Jayden and Emily yay! What do you think about dating within the team? Good idea or nah? (Also, random note, I remember it took practically all my willpower the write 'soda' instead of 'fizzy drinks'). I hope you enjoyed the chapter and wishing you all the best in the new year! Thanks for reading!**_


	12. House of Spirit

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 12: House of Spirit**

Tomorrow was Emily's birthday; she was turning eighteen! Unfortunately, she won't get to go home and see her family which the rangers knew, even though she'd never say it, would be upsetting for her. She'd never spent her birthday without her sister. The rangers wanted her to enjoy her day, so they planned to throw her a surprise party in the house, just the eight of them (Mentor Ji included). Hopefully, she'd enjoy just as much but for now the rangers were trying to set everything and keep it hidden from her. Later, when they had more done someone, probably Mike, would go and distract her but for now, while they were getting started, they needed all hands-on deck. Their date had gone pretty well so he was especially willing to go out with her again, even if it was primarily as a distraction.

Unfortunately, this meant they were currently hiding from Emily which was slightly difficult considering her samurai training but luckily they were well trained too. When they think the coast is clear they begin speaking again.

"This is going to be tough to pull off," Kevin sighs as Nina blows up a yellow balloon.

"Have a bit of faith, Kev. All we have to do is get this stuff ready then hide it," Mia says.

"That is way easier said than done," Kevin replies, picking up a balloon as well as Mike steps away from the banner he just finished. It looked pretty good.

"Come on, Kevin! Tomorrow will be great for all of us," Mike promises. As Nina finishes tying up her balloon the sound of the door opening causes everyone to freeze in their tracks. There wouldn't be enough time to hide everything - it was just Jayden - who was now laughing as the team sighed in relief.

"You should've seen your faces. You would think Master Xandred just walked in," he laughs walking over as Nina hits a balloon his way.

"Hilarious," she said, shaking her head, not angry. "We just don't want Emily to find out."

"Don't worry, the coast is clear. She went outside," he says coming to join them as Nina gets up. "What are we doing about the cake?"

"I've got it. I have all the ingredients for an amazing cake," Mia tells them.

"No!" They all yell before realising their mistake.

"We wouldn't want to risk Emily walking in," Nina says, recovering first.

"Oh, that's true," Mia nods.

"Yeah, she's right," Mike agrees. "Antonio already went to order one from the bakery anyways so it's alright."

"Okay, that's great," she smiles, turning back to the decorations, not noticing the others who exhaled in relief once again.

* * *

Of course, the Nighlok wouldn't let the rangers have their peace when they needed it. The gap sensor went off throughout the house. The rangers had to leave the mansion, Jayden calling Antonio to let him know where to go. They met him on their way before reaching the city. As they approached the Nighlok the rangers stood in formation, drawing the attention to them and away from screaming civilians. What was confusing was that some of the civilians were just lying on the ground…

"Hey Nighlok, that's enough!" Jayden called.

"The Samurai rangers? You're a little bit late, I'm quite satisfied but I guess I could make room for some dessert. The names Splitface by the way!" It yells as rangers begin charging towards it, but the name suddenly makes since when instead of facing one Nighlok, they instead find themselves attacking multiple balls, each with its own mouth.

"Whoa!" Mike exclaimed as he hits one away with his sword. "It's like playing dodgeball but with teeth!" However, the Nighlok was able to knock him and Antonio out of the way. It calls the balls back, before attacking the rangers itself. The rangers fall and although they are quick to recover, they are too far away to stop the Nighlok. Splitface spots Emily and begins attacking him but he splits into the balls once again, knocking her down.

"You'll make be a lovely dessert," it says as she gets up. One of its mouths opens in front of her before she can attack. No one knows what happens, but she began to fall, demorphing in the process.

"Emily!" Nina yelled, running over to her fallen teammate, the others joining her standing around them protectively. Nina held Emily's head in her lap, still morphed.

"Emily, are you okay? Can you hear me?" She asked but she gets no response except for the laughing Nighlok.

"Mmm, I have to admit her spirit was delicious and in twenty-four hours, it'll be fine forever!"

"What?" Jayden asks.

"Forever?" Mia gasped.

"I mean, if you defeat me, you'll get all the spirits back but I'm not going to give you the chance. I'm going to the netherworld and I'm not coming back," the Nighlok cackled stepping back as Nina rested Emily's head on the ground before standing up. "Enjoy your less day with your friend! Although she might not say much."

"I won't let that happen," Jayden growls. "None of us will." He charged forwards the other rangers following his lead but the Nighlok disappears into a crack before they can hit.

"No!" Jayden exclaims before running back to Emily with the others, demorphing. "We need to get her back to the house.

* * *

Later in the evening, most of the rangers were back at the Shiba house. Mike had carried Emily back while Jayden had gone to the hospital with Kevin to make sure that everyone else was safe and helped to carry some of the people. They returned not too long ago, Kevin reporting that fifty-four people had been admitted into the hospital, unconscious but resting comfortably. The rangers knew better. Jayden hadn't entered the hospital room with Kevin when he got back; none of the others had seen him since he left for the hospital, but he was in the house.

"How are we going to get all these spirits back?" Mia groaned.

"I don't know," Mike replies, holding Emily's hand. She was still breathing, and they could feel her pulse so there was hope. "That Nighlok said he wasn't coming back. I don't know what else there is to do." As he says this Jayden enters the room. He stands by the door, next to Ji.

"We're getting her back," he says firmly. "No matter what. We're going to save her. We're going to save all of them." He sounds so sure that no one bothers to argue. It's hard not to believe him when he believes it so strongly.

* * *

The next morning the first thing Nina thinks is_ 'it's Emily's birthday!'_ but then she remembers what's happened. She let herself sleep in later than usual because it was Emily's birthday and they were supposed to be celebrating and she didn't want to be tired but now… she figured she should go and check on her friend. She enters the room to find Jayden already in there. He must've got there recently because he wasn't even sitting, he was checking her temperature with the back of his hand.

"Hey," he says, hearing her.

"Hi, how is she?" She asks, worried. Part of her was hopeful that she would be awake by some miracle.

"The same really. She kind of warm though," he notes to which Nina nods.

"I'll get a face cloth." It doesn't take her too long but, in the kitchen, she runs into Mike.

"Hey is that for Em?"

"Yeah, Jayden said she feels kind of hot," she replies, filling a bowl with cold water.

"Oh, is he in there right now?"

"Yeah, unless he left." He hesitates before asking her,

"Nina, do you think he has a plan? Honestly, do you think we can actually save her because I'm not seeing a way out of this one?" He asks her quietly.

"I don't know, really," she admits. "But he seems sure that we're going to save her, and I believe him. She's a big part of our team so we can't not save her. We're smart. We'll figure it out. Don't be so quick to give up."

"You're right," he nods as the both go back to the hospital room where Mentor Ji and Mia have replaced Jayden. Since Mia's in the seat next to her, Nina hands her the bowl and wash cloth. She wet the washcloth and wrung it out before dabbing it on Emily's forehead. Surprisingly this cause Emily to stir.

"Guys, Emily's waking up," Mike calls out, Kevin and Jayden entering.

"Emily?" Nina asks softly as she opens her eyes.

"I'm sorry guys," she exhaled. "I let him get to me."

"Don't be silly," Mike says laughing sadly. "We're glad that you're alright."

"It's sweet that you're putting out a brave face. Thank you but I know I'm not alright. I feel…" she seems lost for the right word before speaking. "Empty." This breaks Nina's heart.

"Don't worry. We'll figure it out," Mia tells her. She just nods weakly. It's clear they're beginning to lose her again.

"We'll save you, Em. I promise you. Just, hold on," Jayden tells her, but Emily showed no signs of hearing him.

"She's asleep again," Ji sighs.

Noticing Antonio wasn't in the room with them, Nina slipped out.

"Antonio?" She called. She wasn't even sure he was in the house, so she was pleased when she got a reply.

"I'm out here!" She followed wear she heard his voice and found him outside in the outdoor dojo courtyard. "Is she alright? Did she fall asleep again?" He begins asking before he even sees her.

"Yeah, she wasn't awake for long," Nina tells him, sitting next to him.

"That's a shame," he says, not completely paying attention.

"What are you doing Antonio?" Nina asks, confused. He's hunching over, with the Octozord and his morpher.

"I think…" he says, tweaking something, "I might have a way to draw the Nighlok out of the Netherworld," he says.

"What?" Nina exclaims. "How?"

"I marked one of the flying balls when it was attacking us and if I can do this correctly, it's possible I could draw Splitface out of the gap."

"What are we waiting for them? Let's go!" She tells him, standing up and drawing him up too.

* * *

Antonio's plan worked. He drew the symbol once they got to where they were the day before and Splitface came out as though drawn by a magnet! He was shocked and not impressed. Luckily the rangers were able to use this shock to their advantage and were able to beat the Nighlok, even when they had to use the megazord. It was weird without Emily, but they succeeded, nonetheless. When they defeated the Nighlok, they saw plenty of glowing coloured orbs, floating away. _They must be their spirits, _Nina thought. However, even though they were glad to have been able to save Emily, this did throw a bit of a spanner in the works with her surprise birthday idea. They made Mike sprint home ahead of them all so he could get Emily out while Jayden, Kevin, Mia and Mentor Ji set up. Nina and Antonio were going to pick up the cake.

"Antonio, what you did today was amazing! You saved all those people," Nina gushes. Antonio blushes slightly. He didn't really think of it like that at the time. All he was concerned with was getting Emily back. She'd been so kind to him since he arrived, he couldn't let her go.

"We all defeated the Nighlok together," he replies. "But I guess without me there would've been no Nighlok to beat," he jokes. Nina laughs, bumping into him jokingly.

"Okay," she laughs at his cockiness.

* * *

The rangers and Mentor Ji were waiting in the living room with the lights off for Mike to bring Emily back in. Antonio and Nina were back with the cake.

"Mike, what are we doing? I'm fine now, really," they hear Emily's voice as the front door opens.

"I know, but you're going to feel even better," he says.

"What are you talking about? Why is it so dark?" she asks very confused before turning on the lights and seeing all the decorations. Her smiles slowly grows then,

"Surprise!" Everyone yells, jumping out from their hiding places, causing Emily to cover her mouth is shock.

"Oh my gosh, you guys!" She smiles.

"Here you go. A little bit of home," Mike smiles, handing her a card. It's from her sister, Serena and her parents. Her eyes glistening with tears by the time she finishes.

"No don't cry yet," Antonio says, covering her eyes with his hands, once she wipes them dry, guiding her to the table. "You haven't even had some cake!"

"Happy birthday Emily… and clawzord?" she reads slightly confused at the end. Everyone looks at Antonio baffled.

"What? It's his birthday too," Antonio informs them just making them laugh.

"You guys are the best," Emily grins, looking around at all of them.

"Who wants cake?" Mia asks, holding up a knife. Emily smile falters slightly but she keeps it up before asking hesitantly,

"Oh, you baked the cake?"

"Sadly, no. I'm sorry, we got it from the bakery," Mia sighs.

"Oh! Don't worry. You were busy, I get it," she smiles, relieved. "Let's not let it go to waste."

"Great! I can't wait so we can give you your presents afterwards," Antonio grins, as he gets a slice of cake.

_**Happy New Year! 2020 guys! A whole new decade! And a whole new chapter (twelve) is out! Honestly, I wish the chapter was longer and one of my more original ones but it's okay! We're getting there. Anyways, see you on Tuesday and thanks for reading! **_


	13. House of Stories

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 13: House of Stories **

It had been a couple of weeks since Emily's birthday, but the rangers had found the Nighloks and moogers to be relentless in their efforts. Today was no exception. The rangers were almost home from their battle with some giant moogers. It was clear that even the common moogers were getting stronger every day and it was taking a lot more effort to take them down, especially since the Sanzu River was beginning to seep through the cracks! They needed a greater advantage. Luckily, it was possible that Ji had a solution to their problem.

"The black box?" Nina questioned as Ji showed them a page of an old looking book, or more accurately, journal. It sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't quite pin her finger on where she'd heard it. She didn't think it was from her gran so maybe she was recalling it before that... a lifetime ago… no, well maybe but there was another time...

"Ji, we can't," Jayden says, shaking his head.

"Why? What is it?" Mia asks. It was obviously the question on everyone's minds.

"A magic talisman created by the very first red ranger. It is said that it can unite to symbol power of all rangers into one," Ji explained, piquing the interest of the rangers, excluding the red.

"Okay cool, so let's fire it up!" Mike suggests but Ji and Jayden simply look at each other for a moment, clearly having a silent conversation before the red ranger replies,

"It's not as simple as that. The red ranger never finished the talisman."

"Many have tried," Ji added. "But none have the skill and power to complete it." Realising the issue, the rangers fall silent. It's a couple of minutes until Emily speaks up, "What about Antonio? He's a tech wiz!"

Nina doesn't even realise as she zones out of the conversation, thinking about where she'd heard about the black box. Maybe it wasn't just that she'd _heard _about it… yes that was it! Last year back at Anubis house when she'd be trapped after they failed to win Senet, the ghost of Victor Rodenmaar Sr. had spoken to her of power of the Chosen One and the Osirian (of course back then she hadn't known it was Eddie) and he'd mentioned he'd read something talking of a black box in one of Robert Frobisher Smythe's journals. She'd found it in the secret study but hadn't been able to read too much before Amber had found her. She didn't want to take it with her in front of her just in case she found herself wanting to read it which may lead to more questions she hadn't been prepared to answer. Maybe she could ask Eddie to-

"Nina? What do you think?" Kevin asks her. Regaining her focus, she sees everyone looking at her.

"Of what?"

"Of Antonio fixing up the black box?" Mike asks, looking slightly unnerved by her lack of attention.

"Oh right! Yeah, sorry. I agree; we should give him the chance to say yes," she replies. Jayden furrows his brows at her, but she just nods, silently saying she's fine.

"Okay," he finally agrees.

"First, you must retrieve the Black Box. For generations, it has been protected by the guardians of the Tengen Gate," Ji tells them.

* * *

Once the team finish planning their day tomorrow, they all get up to leave and Nina rushes to her room, shutting her door before pulling out her laptop opening her email, the one she uses to contact Eddie.

_Hey Eddie, _

_I know we haven't spoken in a few weeks; things have been pretty hectic around here and if your year's anything like mine was, I'm gonna assume I can say the same for there. Anyways, how are you? Has the locket been of any use? It usually worked for only me, but I figured since you're my Osirian it might work for you because our weird mystical connection. _

_Could you do me a favour as well? You know where Robert's secret study was in the basement right? In the there's a book, it's red and black leather with gold detailing. I think it's called Secrets of Amneris and Osiris_ _or something like that. There's chapter mentioning something about a black box. Hopefully it's still bookmarked where I left it. Could you send me photos of the pages in that chapter please? _

_Hopefully, we'll be able to talk soon, _

_Nina_

Just as she finishes up her message, she hears a knock on her door.

"Come in," she calls, and it opens revealing Jayden.

"Hey," he says entering, "are you alright?"

"Yeah, sure why?"

"You just seemed kind of out of it while we were talking earlier," he says, leaning on the wall by the door.

"I know," she sighed trying to think of something that's not completely a lie. "I was just trying to remember where I'd heard of the Black Box before." Before Jayden can reply there's another at the already open door and Mike pokes his head in.

"Am I interrupting?" he asks looking between the two.

"No, it's fine. I didn't want to do my work right now anyways," Nina says shutting her laptop. "What's up?"

"Uh, Nina I need your help with something," Mike says, awkwardly.

"Okay… you wanna talk and spar?" She suggests to which Mike nods.

"Yeah that'd be perfect! I'll go get changed and I'll meet you out there." Nina looks to her leader and shrugs.

"I'll take that as my cue but seriously, if anything's bothering you, you can tell me," he says walking out. She nods but before he shuts the door, he turns but to her, "And you actually will have to do your schoolwork eventually."

"Shh," she whispers as he shuts the door smiling. She gets off her bed, going to get her training clothes from her wardrobe thinking over what he said.

_If anything's bothering you, you can tell me. _She seriously wishes she could take him up on that offer but being the chosen one is her burden.

* * *

"She did enjoy it," Nina tells Mike, before swinging her bow staff at his legs causing him to jump. It turns out he was actually just kind of worried about how his date with Emily had gone. It had been a few weeks and Emily had to her and Mia how it was and how much fun she'd had with him. However, the two of them hadn't really been able to talk much since then because they'd just been getting busier by the day. He was beginning to get worried that he'd messed things up.

"So, it's not me?" He asks as she parries one of his hits.

"No," she says, pinning down his staff with hers. She holds it there as she talks to him, "Go and talk to her now. This is about as free as we get these days. I'm sure she wouldn't mind the help in preventing a catastrophe in the kitchen with Mia."

"You know what, you're right." Nina takes his staff. "Thanks Nina!"

"Maybe shower first," she calls as he runs off inside. She shakes her head, smiling at his enthusiasm.

* * *

The next day the rangers (minus Antonio who had stayed behind) headed out early to the Tengen Gate. As they reach the sacred place, they see the familiar Shiba family crest on the wooden gate.

"The Tengen Gate is an important part of ranger history," Jayden tells them after Mike calls it a 'big wood thing'. Bowing as they enter, Jayden continues, "It commemorates where the first samurai rangers battled the Nighlok army."

"They say the Sanzu river flooded the entire city," Emily added. Jayden smiled at her nodding.

"What happened?" Mike asked. This time it was Kevin who asked his question.

"The rangers defeated them because they never gave up. And they took their training seriously." He said the last part looking pointedly at Mike. The green ranger looks like he's about to reply when another man, with a grey beard and robes approached speaking instead,

"They certainly did, although the legends tell us that the green ranger was a bit of a prankster. Apparently, he drove the blue ranger crazy." The rangers laughed at this; sometimes history does repeat. "But they were still the best of friends. I am Daisuke, the elder guardian," he said introducing himself. The team bow to him, showing respect. "Welcome to the Tengen Gate. Your mentor advised us that you were coming. Please," he says, motioning for them to enter the building.

Jayden doesn't follow immediately, instead falling behind, looking at a stone statue.

"A penny for your thoughts, Jayden," Daisuke asked. He was familiar with the red ranger, having met him before on occasion.

"It's nothing," Jayden replied.

"You still haven't told them your secret, have you?" the man guessed.

"They're my friends, Daisuke. I don't like lying to them, but…" Jayden trailed off looking back to the statue. Daisuke placed a hand on Jayden's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jayden, but it is your responsibility to be the red ranger."

"I know. I won't fail them."

As Mia and Kevin look around the house together before coming across an interesting tapestry. It was clear it was telling some story and luckily the perfect person to tell them had just entered.

"It's an old folk tale," Daisuke began, getting the attention of the other ranger who come and join them. "A young woman made a deal with the Nighlok King to save the life of her beloved, but the king tricked her and turned them both into Nighlok."

"That sure sounds like something a Nighlok would do," Kevin says, shaking his head in disgust.

"The king away the man's memory and cursed him to walk the Earth alone together," the elderman finished.

"It's strange, I feel like I've seen this woman before," Mia says, touching the tapestry and she wasn't the only one who felt that way. Nina was sure she's seen the woman too. That couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

* * *

It's not long before they're seated in a circle in the living room. Daisuke presented them with the Black Box before one of the other guardians who also stays at the gate presents them with a tray of tea. The six rangers and Daisuke each take a cup, toasting to the ancient rangers, and for good fortune in battle. The red ranger drinks first as the other raise their cups to the lips, however, they are startled by the clanging of a cup dropping and Jayden falling to the ground, clutching his throat as though physically trying to open his air passages.

"Jayden!" Nina exclaims as she pulls her leader's head into her lap.

"It's the drink," he chokes. "It's poisoned!"

Before anyone else can do anything, the guardian who brought in their tea runs through the door.

"Daisuke! There are Nighlok in the garden!" The rangers begin to rise as they hear the commotion outside.

"We can't leave Jayden," Mia says but Jayden shakes his head.

"I'll be fine!" He gasps. The rangers except Nina begin to run out.

"Nina. Go," he tells her, looking up, flushed. She doesn't want to leave him like this, but she knows she'll be able to do a lot more good out there than in here. Nodding at the guardian, she hands him over before running out to join the team, morphing on her way out.

"I'll call Antonio for back up!" She yells at no one in particular but they could use all the help they could get, especially with Jayden down.

* * *

It doesn't take too long for Antonio to find them in the forest but when he does arrive, they send him inside to attempt to help Jayden. The rangers put up a good fight, the purple ranger getting in a good few hits with her lightning mace however, with the Sanzu River leaking into their world, the Nighlok were much stronger than they were ready for. So strong that soon the moogers and the Nighlok leading them - whose name was Arachnitor - had eventually managed to knock down, demorphed and almost all unconscious. Kevin managed to keep his eyes open long enough to see Arachnitor somehow pulled back into the Netherworld through a gap in a tree before everything turned dark for him too.

By the time Antonio found the team he was alone. He found Octoroo, pestering Jayden for the sealing symbol in exchange for the antidote. While Antonio occupied himself with said Nighlok, a man he had been with earlier approached. Transforming to a Nighlok before his very eyes, he took the red ranger. Finding his team unconscious, he realised there was only one thing for him to do.

"Mentor," he spoke into his Samuraizer.

_**Chapter thirteen woo! I'm just realising Nina needs a bit more bonding time with Kevin, Mia, Antonio and even Mentor Ji! She gets loads with the others. I might have to slightly edit the following chapters or if I'm feeling lazy (which I must admit is a possibility) I might just add more into chapters you'll get much later (so chapter 22 and onwards). Also, ooh cliff-hanger (I don't think I've done one before). Anyways, we're a week into 2020 and I have so far been consistent so yay! See you on Friday and thanks for reading **_


	14. House of Boxes

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 14: House of Boxes**

"Man, they're pretty banged up after that run-in with Arachnitor, huh?" Antonio sighs, standing at the threshold with Ji who nodded. Almost all the rangers, except Jayden, who was missing and Antonio, were in the hospital room. The battle against Arachnitor had weakened them all greatly.

"Now that the Sanzu River is seeping into our world, the Nighlok are getting stronger. Soon they will be too powerful for even our team to stop." He leaves the room, Antonio following closely behind. He reaches into a drawer. "It's crucial that you fill this Black Box with all the rangers' symbol powers."

"Once we rescue Jayden, he and I will get it running in no time," Antonio nods, causing their mentor to stop in his tracks. He turned back to the fisherman.

"Antonio, you must focus on the job at hand."

"But Jayden's out there," Antonio replied, his brow furrowed. He figured getting their friend _and _leader back would be top priority.

"Jayden would be the first to tell you the Black Box is the priority," Ji tells him. In the back of his head Antonio knows that Ji is saying makes sense and is true but there was still a little nagging voice of doubt. Taking the box from Mentor Ji, Antonio opened it and looked down doubtfully.

"But even the original red ranger couldn't finish this," he says wearily. Mentor Ji looks at the boy compassionately, leading him to the living room.

"Your lack of formal symbol power training will make this very difficult," Ji admits before pointing out. "But you did build your own samurai morpher."

"This is the ultimate hack job… my kind of challenge." Ji smiles at his determination.

"I have faith that your high-tech skills will enable you to succeed where others have failed."

"All right, I'm on it," Antonio nods. "With the others down, I know I have to pick up the slack." Ji nods at him before leaving the gold ranger to get to work.

* * *

Later, in the hospital room all the rangers were awake, just feeling a bit beat down after their fight. They felt so powerless, especially since Jayden had been taken away by a Nighlok while he was poisoned, and there was nothing they could do about it. Kevin had had enough! He threw the duvet off himself and stood up, catching the attention of the others in the room. "There's no time to rest! It's our sworn duty to keep the world safe. We're samurai. Nothing can stop us." However, as soon as he attempted to walk, he found himself stumbling.

"Kevin!" Emily gasped as he caught himself on the bed.

"I know it's frustrating," Mia says as he sits back on his bed. "But we have to rest."

"They're right, dude," Mike adds. "We're no good like this." Kevin sighs, laying back in bed. Nina looks over at her teammates, smiling sadly before turning back to her laptop. She'd tried to go and get it earlier, but Ji had stopped her and got it for her instead. She didn't like sitting around, feeling useless so she was hoping that Eddie had gotten back to her. She was in luck! Opening her email, she found she had two emails from him.

_Hey Nina! _

_I'm so glad you emailed me. You're definitely right, things have not been easy around here at all! Is this really how you spent your two years here? How did you still manage to go to class and not fall asleep all the time? The locket has actually been a lifesaver. It has been working for me. Anyways I hope you're good. I'll go down and look for the book tonight. _

_Eddie_

She was glad he was doing good, even if things hadn't settled down. He didn't sound like he was suffering badly. The second email had read,

_So, I found the book. Don't worry, no one followed me. I came alone and man this place is dusty! It took me a little while, but I found it. The chapter you were talking about was still bookmarked luckily so here. I found this makes more sense to you than it does to me. When you finally finish you're gonna have to explain this to me. _

Below were 9 attachments; the photos of the pages.

Thank you, Eddie, she thought to herself before she started reading the pages. She was going to reply because there was so much, she wanted to say but at the same time, she wasn't sure exactly what to say. He said _when you finally finish, _and Nina didn't know how to reply to that. Especially since she had no idea when that would be. She didn't want to be negative and she was confident that they would stop Master Xandred and his Nighlok eventually, she just wasn't sure when. She'd reply later. For now, she was just going to copy out the relevant notes from the pages Eddie had sent her.

"Nina, are you doing work, right now?" Mike asks her in awe.

"Something like that," she replies, and she took down more from the book.

"Man, I do not wish that," Mike says, causing her to look up and shake her head at him but she can't help but smile.

"Mike," Emily scolds.

"Sorry," he tells her, but she just brushes it off.

* * *

Eventually, Nina actually started doing schoolwork seeing as there wasn't much else to do. The rangers had begun to feel a bit better and she had read through the pages Eddie sent her and they weren't confusing, but she just couldn't put something together. She had left it deciding to come back to it later. Shutting her laptop and putting her notebook on top of it, she placed them on the desk beside her bed. She might as well rest now, she was kind of tired of reading through things. She slid down the bed to lay down but as soon as her head hit the pillow she inhaled sharply.

"Nina?" she heard Kevin, maybe, ask. She wasn't sure because there was a louder voice and images flashing in her head.

"**Chosen one…" ** The voice seemed to echo. **"Draw the symbols, activate the box." **Kanji and symbols, she hadn't seen before flashed in her head and somehow, she understood what they meant. **"Activate the box…" **The loud, echoing voice whispered once more before she suddenly sat up gasping.

"Nina, what happened? Are you okay?" Kevin asks crouching by her bed.

"I'm fine," she says, trying to move the duvet away. It's tangled around her legs. "Where's the black box?"

"Antonio's working on it right now," Mia tells her as Ji enters with a towel.

"Nina, where are you going?" He asks, he says rushing over. "You need to rest."

"No, no I'm fine. I need to help Antonio," she says, lightly pushing away the towel Ji had away from her head.

"Nina, you just looked like you were having a seizure, I don't think that counts as okay," Mike tells her.

"Guys, I promise you, I'm fine. Seriously, but I know how to help Antonio and I need to do it now," she says, looking around at her fussing teammates.

"Okay," Emily nods. Nina gets up and walks to the living room where Antonio is. The floor was kind of cold making her wish she at least she had socks. The rangers and Ji follow her and on entering the room they see Antonio breathing heavily, leaning on one of the couches. Using so much symbol power is clearly draining him.

"Antonio, I can help you," Nina says, going over to the gold ranger, putting a hand on his shoulder as she kneels in front of him.

"What? How?" He asks her, as she helps him up.

"I can't explain it, but I can. Trust me but I still need your help," she says.

"Okay," he nods as the gap sensor begins going off. "Oh, we can't do it now. We need your discs, but you have to take them into battle." Emily, however, reaches into her back pocket, holding out her disc to Antonio.

"We'll make do without them," she says. Mike looks at her smiling but pulling out his disc too the other two following suit.

"She's right," Mike says. "It's way more important for you to finish this."

Antonio still seems hesitant to continue, wanting to find Jayden instead but the others manage to convince him that Jayden will want them to do this first. He knows they're right. They want to find him too, of course they do, but their duty as Samurai rangers is to help those who can't really help themselves. Besides in a situation like this, they know Jayden himself would say his life is insignificant compared to the fate of the whole world. It's clear Nina is hesitant to leave with her team. She wants to help, but she knows that she's the only person who can help here too.

"Nina, it's okay," Kevin tells her. "You stay here. If you're sure you can help him get the Black Box working quicker, you should do it."

"Are you sure?" She asks.

"Yeah, we've got this, don't worry," Mike nods.

"Okay, get out of here! We've got work to do," Antonio laughs as the others run out.

* * *

After about half an hour, Antonio has managed to program Mia and Mike's symbol power into the Black Box but with each one he adds it gets harder. Symbol power drains the rangers and he's used a lot so far.

"Nice Antonio," Nina cheer as he finishes putting in Kevin's.

"Now let's keep it going with a little yellow," Antonio says, programming his morpher to add Emily's symbol power. At first, it appears to be working but then the stream of symbol power fades.

"No! I just don't have enough symbol energy to finish it fast enough!" Antonio yells, throwing himself down on a chair. "I'm sorry… it's just that the whole planet's counting on me." Just as Nina's about to reply to his fears he perks up. "Wait, the whole planet... that's it!" He exclaims, typing away on his morpher. "I'll piggyback on the global satellite system and use my light symbol power to triangulate with Jayden's samuraizer."

"I have no idea what that means but if it means you can find Jayden, I say do it," Nina says. It only takes moments before,

"Golden! I found him!" Antonio walks over to Mentor Ji. "Look, I can't finish the black box now, but I can help Jayden."

"Go," Ji replies after a moment's hesitation.

"Nina, I'm -" Antonio starts but said girl interrupts him with a wave of her hand.

"You've done more than enough for me to do what I have to," she says, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Go help Jayden." Antonio nods before running out, leaving the purple ranger with Ji. Walking back over to the table with the Black Box, Nina pulls out her samuraizer,

"Okay, my turn." She brings it down to the floor with her before sitting cross legged in front of it.

* * *

It's about another half hour later when Nina begin getting tired. She's been drawing the symbols from her vision onto the talisman. She may not know them, but she understands them; light, power, strength, agility. She's assuming these are things that unlocking the black box will help them with, but she is just so... Tired…

"Nina. Nina," a voice says. She feels herself being shaken. Opening her eyes, she sees Emily. "Nina, wake up."

"What? What happened?" Looking to her side she sees the Black Box; she reaches out for it. "I need to finish..." she sighs but she's still weak.

Emily pulls her arm back. "No Nina, you need to rest. You used way too much symbol power."

"But-" Nina begins but she's cut off by Jayden.

"No Nina, Emily's right. You have to rest." Looking up, Nina realises that the whole team is back.

"Jayden, you're here!" she breathes happily but weakly. He smiles back at her slightly worried. She tries to get up, but she ends up stumbling and having to lean on Emily. "Whoa, okay maybe you're right. I should rest." She was already weak before she started using her symbol power to activate the box, weaker than the others due to her lack of rest and the vision too; now she's almost completely drained. She pushes away from Emily gently, trying to walk to her room but she only manages a few steps before Jayden catches her before she can fall.

"Let me help you, Nina," Jayden says, pulling her arm over his shoulder as he hunches down to put his arm around her waist, helping her to her room. The purple ranger was already asleep before they reached her bed.

* * *

It's just after six in the evening when Nina finally wakes up. She's still exhausted from not having slept for nearly as long as she probably should've but luckily not to the point of collapsing as she takes a few steps. She hears talking and some laughing somewhere else in the house as she can't help but get up and find out where it's coming from. Getting out from her bed, not completely remembering how she got there, she sees she's still wearing her clothes from earlier. She decides to put on some socks before she walks out of the room. Following the voices, she finds herself in the living room, pausing at the threshold as she sees the rangers and Ji eating pizza and talking about how to defeat the more powerful Nighlok. It may seem like a weird topic, but it was clear they were enjoying themselves, not all their suggestions being serious.

"I bet if I made them my baby barracuda fish kebabs, they'd be willing to compromise," Antonio says, causing the others to laugh.

"What? So, they'd only attack every other Wednesday and the occasional Thursday?" Mia laughs.

"Maybe only once a year! I'm telling you now, they'd love them! I'm pretty sure Deker did, even if I didn't actually see him it them." Nina just smiles at her teammates. It was nice just seeing them enjoy themselves for once. Their lives were usually so intense and they were all still so young so having little moments like this made her wish she could stop time.

Mike was the first one to notice her, "Nina, hey!" The others turn to look at her as he gets up, gesturing for her to take his seat. She thanks him, taking his spot next to Emily as he moves to join Antonio on the floor.

"How are you feeling?" Mia asks her.

"Tired but don't worry, I'm not going to pass out," she tells them.

"Good. Honestly, we didn't think we'd be seeing you again today," Mike says.

"And miss out on this talk of baby barracuda kebabs? No way," she smiles, grabbing a slice of pizza. She looks across from her, seeing Jayden looking at her a question in his eyes. She nods at him subtly, smiling, letting him know she'll be fine.

_**And chapter fourteen has officially aired (yeah, pretty sure I've run out of endings now)! I'm trying to subtly to make Nina's chosen one powers become more relevant to the story while not taking over from power rangers plot. Anyways, see you on Tuesday and thanks for reading!**_


	15. House of Arrivals (vol2)

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 15: House of Arrivals (vol.2) **

The rangers had been training much more vigorously than they had before. Not only because they needed to defeat the Nighlok, who were only getting stronger, but also because they usually used the outdoor dojo to train as December was only a few days away it was getting colder and moving helped to keep them warm. So, it was normal that almost all the rangers were out training already. The only people missing were Nina and Antonio - they'd been working on the Black Box together for weeks now and they were making progress, it was just taking long, and it was frustrating the two. What wasn't normal though, was the knock at the door. Not many people knew where the rangers lived so it must have been someone who was lost. However, since the majority of the rangers were outside and the ones who weren't were in the inside dojo, only Ji heard the door. He was prepared to send the person away or give them directions. What he wasn't ready for was a familiar brunette with a suitcase.

"Mentor Ji!" she exclaimed.

"How are you here?" He asked, shocked.

"A plane," she smiles as he regains his composure.

"It's good to see you," he smiles, giving her a hug which she returns.

"Aww, you too!" She replies as pulls away. He grabs her suitcase, inviting her into the Shiba house. As he shuts the door behind her, she reaches into her bag, pulling out an envelope. "My mum asked me to give this to you. It should explain everything," she tells him.

"Thank you. Though, I'm sure you didn't come here just to talk to me. The rangers are out in the back." She leaves her suitcase by the door, not quite knowing where she'll be staying just yet. However, since it's not her first time at this house, she doesn't even have to think as she makes her way to the outdoor dojo. Stepping out the door she sees, five rangers training but she it takes her a moment before she can focus on the one she recognises. None of them seem to have spotted her yet though, the blue and green rangers sparring just like the pink and yellow. The red ranger was practicing sword technique and was facing away from her as she started walking out towards them.

"Jayden Shiba, your technique has improved so much since I last saw you," she says, causing the red ranger to turn quickly, holding his wooden sword in an offensive position. It also grabs the attention of the other rangers. "Hey, I'm unarmed." Jayden drops his down to his side, seeing her face.

"Shaylee?" he says disbelievingly.

"Of course," she grins walking towards him as he moves towards her before he engulfs her in a hug.

"The only reason I'll allowing this sweaty hug is because I haven't seen you in ages," she says, hugging him back before he pulls away laughing.

"Sorry," he smiles. "But Shay, what are you doing here?" He asks as the door opens, Nina coming through in her purple lined training gear, tying up her hair into a ponytail.

"Sorry, I'm late guys, we had to… who are you?" She asks, noticing the girl standing by Jayden but just as she opens her mouth to reply Nina's eyes widen in recognition, "No way…"

"Oh my gosh, Nina!" Shaylee says rushing forwards to Nina.

"I haven't seen you in years!" Nina laughs, meeting the girl in a hug, holding her tight.

"Sorry to interrupt but who is this?" Kevin asks the question on everyone else's minds. Shaylee pulls away from Nina turning to the unfamiliar faces.

"I'm sorry! I'm-" she begins but is interrupted by the opening door and Antonio walking out.

"What's going on?" He asks, seeing everyone not training just as he sees Shaylee. "Hold on," he says moving closer to her. "Shaylee Tokuda, is that you?"

"Antonio Garcia, it's good to see you," she smiles, giving him a hug, baffling the other rangers even more.

"Wait, Antonio, you know her too?" Mike asks, leaning on his staff.

"Of course, I know her! Shaylee's Jayden's cousin. We used to see her all the time."

"I just haven't seen her since she decided to move back to Australia," Jayden adds to which Shaylee scoffs.

"You say it like I had a choice."

"That explains why you know about us," Kevin says.

"How do you know Nina?" Mia asks Shaylee who glances at Nina and smiles softly.

"We were friends when we were younger. Really close," she says.

"Yeah, until she decided to move to Australia," Nina says, copying Jayden's previous statement.

"Hey, you moved too! And besides, I'm here now, okay," she says, rolling her eyes good naturedly.

* * *

The rangers finished training early so they could spend a bit of time talking and getting to know Shaylee since Ji had let them know that Shaylee was here to stay (she was going to be staying in Nina's room). She wasn't a ranger so she wouldn't be going out on the field with them, but she would be helping them from back here at the Shiba house. Some of the ranger teams that had come before them had had help from robots such as the Space Rangers (and many others) with Alpha so Shaylee in a way their human Alpha. She may not have been a ranger herself but coming from a ranger family she knew a lot about the ranger history, not just samurai rangers. She had also had access to books and journals that the other rangers were unlikely to have read before. It was great having Shaylee there. She fit in so naturally, as though she was always meant to be a part of the team; a part they didn't even know was missing until she was there. She was also great for boosting morale. Since their battle with Arachnitor and the discovery of the Black Box, Jayden, Antonio and Nina had been there but their heads have just been all over the place. No one really knew what had happened with Jayden when he spoke with Deker but it seemed to have got to him somehow so he hadn't really been himself since then; Nina and Antonio were just trying to get the Black Box working but it was a lot harder and a lot more draining than any of them could have anticipated. Also Nina still had to do school work on top of training and unlocking the Black Box so her day started much earlier than it usually did (she was currently waking up at 5am each morning)! Having someone the three of them had conveniently known during their childhood had boosted their moods tremendously and they were acting more like themselves.

Later that night, Nina, Emily and Kevin were cleaning up in the kitchen. Ji had ordered some take out due to Shaylee's arrival and the three of them had offered to clear up.

"You know, it's crazy that all three of you knew Shaylee when you were younger," Kevin told her, wiping down the table tops.

"Yeah. Imagine if you had met Jayden or Antonio way back then," Emily added, drying the dishes Nina had just finished washing.

"That would've been amazing," Nina smiles. She'd become pretty close with both of them so it would've been interesting to have grown up around them.

"It's a shame, you had to move away," Kevin says.

"But you're here now, so I guess fate brought you together," Emily smiles, causing Nina to laugh a bit.

"Sure. Fate. Definitely not our family legacies."

"Call it what you want," Emily tells her as Shaylee enters the room.

"Hey, would it be alright if I stole Nina?" she asks.

"Yeah, it's alright. I'm just drying the last few dishes now," Emily nods. "See you guys tomorrow."

Taking Nina's arm, Shaylee marched them back to their room. It was kind of weird for Nina to be sharing her room with someone now, especially since she had just gotten used to it just being her but she did not mind at all. It turned out Shaylee needed two things; first she needed to know how everything in the house worked; if she was going to do her job properly and actually be useful knowing where things were and how things such as the gap sensor worked. Second,

"So have you and Jayden-"

"No." Nina replies immediately, knowing where Shaylee was going with her sentence.

"Seriously? I thought by now…"

"Shay, stop," she laughs. "No, we don't think we can and it's annoying yes but it's alright. We've talked and we know this is the best thing. Besides, we've both pretty much accepted it this is how it is now and we're good so can we talk about anything else?"

"Sure, I was talking with him earlier actually so, tell me about England. Was there a replacement Jayden?" Nina rolls her eyes, but she's actually kind of glad. There's not much she can tell her about what exactly happened while she was at Anubis house so she was glad the topic Shaylee started with was her friends.

"I wouldn't call him a replacement but yes," Nina begins before telling her about her friends. Making her smile. She loved talking about them, surprisingly, it didn't make her sad to talk about them. Sure she missed them but now talking about them just made her smile, she'd made good memories there but she was quite happy where she was now too. Besides, even though she wasn't there, she still sort of got the gist of what was happening back in England. She had sent Eddie an incredibly long email for his 18th birthday just over a week ago and he'd sent her an incredibly long one back, thanking her and telling her the key points of what's going on.

* * *

Unfortunately, while they were still glad to have Shaylee around the morale boost was only short lived because the next day the red, purple and gold rangers were back to being distant and frustrated as they got back to work. As they were spread out through the house, Mia had already left to buy ingredients for her welcome meal to Shaylee/cheer up meal and Antonio had gone fishing to take a break. The gap sensor began ringing, calling all the rangers to the living room.

"It's in city hall," Shaylee told them. "Mia's already there."

"Thanks," Jayden replied as they ran out to meet the pink ranger. Mike smiled at her impressed at how quickly she got the hang of things. The Nighlok they were facing was Rhinosnorus, Shaylee informed them and it could place people into a deep sleep before devouring them in their perfect dream world so they never wake up in the real world. She figured that one of them could transport some of the others into the dream world but warned that it would take a whole lot of symbol power and may be difficult to keep open for long. Jayden ended up being the one to do it, only being able to keep it open long enough for Kevin, Mike and Nina to jump in, through Antonio (it was less weird than it sounded). Mia and Antonio had both been transported into the dream world and Emily had gone to find Mia's body, since last she saw her, she was fighting Dayu. It didn't take too long for the conscious rangers in the dream world to find the troublesome Nighlok, using its ability to conjure up whatever they dream to their advantage. Luckily, they had been able to knock the Nighlok out of his world but the three of them were on their own, having ended up, far from the others in a field. Luckily, they were able to send him away.

Back in the city hall, however, Antonio had woken up with a weak Jayden besides him. Helping the red ranger up, Antonio planned on taking him back to the house so he could rest up but the Nighlok had other plans, releasing giant monster in the town. The red and gold rangers morphed and entered their separate megazords, fighting alongside each other just like old time and actually managed to defeat them all and win. However, coming down, both rangers were much more exhausted than before and decided to take a breather on a crate, however not long after they sat down Jayden's samuraizer rang simultaneously with the rising of a large garage door. Jayden answered the call while looking at the suspicious opening.

"Hello?"

"Jayden, it's me," Shaylee said. "You see that Nighlok you were telling me about? The half human one that kidnapped and wants to fight you?"  
"Deker? Yeah." Black boots begin walking across the bottom to the rising door.

"I did facial recognition scan across the city cameras just so I could put a face to the name but he's near you guys. Last I saw he was entering an old warehouse by the city hall," she says as the door rises high enough to see a face. Deker.

"Yeah, you're right," Jayden sighs, standing up shakily but determined, and ending the call.

"Jayden?" Antonio says, seeing Deker too, with his sword. "Why do you want to fight him now? Why?"

_**Chapter fifteen is done (I'm pretty sure I've used this one before)! Ooh Jayden's cousin has come to town! For her face and voice, I'm thinking Maia Mitchell but with her long hair and when she arrives it's curled (the specific picture I'm thinking of search 'Maia Mitchell Neo2 Magazine Shoot 2013' – she's wearing a black top). It's so cute to think that Jayden and Nina both knew her – imagine kid Shaylee name dropping them to each other. Also, ooh, cliff-hanger! Read the next chapter on Friday to find out what happens next! Until then, thanks for reading! **_


	16. House of Duels

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 15: House of Duels**

"Jayden, it's crazy to do this. Take on Deker and do it alone?" Kevin says, pacing up and down the living room. The rangers had all got home not long ago and Jayden had asked to speak to all of them in the living room, Shaylee included. He'd told them about Deker's ultimatum; he has 24 hours to rest then he's either to meet Deker at the beach to give him the 'ultimate battle so he can be free' or if he chooses not to show he'll start attacking innocent people

"Deker, insists. That's how it has to be," Antonio replies. Jayden isn't even really there. He doesn't seem to be paying any attention.

"You can't do this! A samurai only fights battles that are necessary," Kevin argues, trying to dissuade his leader.

"This is necessary," Jayden says, finally looking up at Kevin. "If I don't go, Deker threatened to hurt innocent people."

"Okay, fine we'll handle him just like any other Nighlok! As a team!"

"Kevin, you don't get it!" Jayden says exasperated, standing up. He knows what their duty is as samurai. "If I'm not alone it won't satisfy him."

"Since when do we let a Nighlok dictate how we battle!" Kevin yells, shocking everyone. None of them had ever really argued before so this was a first. No one says anything for a moment before Mia speaks up, "I know now that Deker won't stop until Jayden duels him." Mia turns to , "We have to let him go."

"Mia, how could you say that! Jayden isn't just our leader. He's also the only one who has the sealing power," Kevin pleads. "Jayden, you're the key to stopping the Nighlok."

"Kev's right. You shouldn't risk," Mike says, agreeing with the blue ranger.

"This discussion is over," Jayden says, in a final tone, leaving the room, leaving the room in a stunned silence.

* * *

Later that night, Jayden's training in the indoor dojo because it's late and dark outside. The others heard Kevin join their leader, helping him to train as they sit in the kitchen at the table. Ji had poured them all mugs of calming chamomile. No one really knew what to say but the silence was heavy.

"Why are we so worried? Jayden can beat anyone. He'll be fine," Antonio says after taking a sip.

"Yeah, I'm sure he will," Emily says, speaking up about it for the first time.

"Yeah," Mike nods.

"All I know is that Deker needs to be dealt with and hesitating would be a mistake," Mia adds. Earlier, she had been up against Dayu after the both of them had escaped the dream world. She'd seen Dayu's dream and realised that the old folk tail Daisuke had told them about from the tapestry was about Deker and Dayu. She'd felt for the Nighlok woman and hesitated to fight her, asking if there was a chance for her to become human again. While it was kind, the hesitation had allowed Dayu to try and harm her but luckily Emily had been able to jump in to defend her but ended up getting injured in the process. The yellow ranger had assured her it was fine and she was almost better but the pink ranger couldn't help but blame herself hesitating for her friends injury. She wouldn't do it again.

"I'm afraid, Mia is right. There is no other choice but to fight Deker. We just have to have faith that Jayden is prepared for this battle," Ji says from behind them.

"He will be," Shaylee says. "My cousin's strong, well-trained and I know he may not look it but he's smart too." The rangers smile a bit at her comment. "He's got this." Nina's the first to finish, washing her mug before going to her room.

* * *

Nina lays in her room on her bed not sure exactly what she's doing. Shaylee hadn't come in yet and Nina hadn't left since she came in after drinking the tea. The others probably thought she was asleep as it had been a couple of hours since. She knew Jayden would be fine. He had to be. She didn't want him to go and be in harm's way but she knew he had to. Maybe she should tell him that, more so to ease her own mind. Yeah, she thought to herself, getting up from her bed, walking to the door. She wasn't even sure if Jayden was in his room but she couldn't hear any noise coming from the indoor dojo so it was probably the best place to start. Walking down the corridor to his door she knocks, leaning forward to hear for a reply.

"Come in," he calls from the other side of the door. She exhales before pushing the door open. She sees Jayden standing by his desk. There's not as much on his desk as hers. Just a notepad and a pot of pens and pencils. He looks over at her though as she enters although she stays by the door.

"Hey," she says.

"Hey," he says walking over to stand in front of her. "You were quiet earlier."

"Yeah… I didn't really know what to say," she admits. "Honestly, I wish you didn't have to go but I know you have to. If I were in your situation I would go too. But look," she says stepping closer. "I know you're gonna come back. I know you're going to win. I know it but I need you to say it too."

Jayden smiles at her almost timidly as though he might scare her if he reacts to suddenly. He knows that's ridiculous of course! Nina's so much stronger than that but it's clear that she needs him to believe too. He puts a hand on her shoulder, staring right at her,

"Nina," he says, seriously, "I'm going to win and I'm going to come back." She nods, not looking away,

"Good." She smiles, stepping back and he moves his hand. "Now get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow."

"Good night, Nina."

"Good night, Jayden."

* * *

The next morning, before Jayden's supposed to leave after eating breakfast with the rangers he goes back to his room to grab his disc. When he steps out to the courtyard he finds the rangers all out there along with Shaylee, standing on either side of the path.

"Good luck, Jayden," Emily speaks first as he steps down.

"You can do this bro," Mike says, fist bumping him.

"You're the best," Antonio states, placing a hand on Jayden's shoulder. He doesn't look at him, just staring straight ahead but they know he's listening. "I've known that since we were kids and it's no different today."

Mia pipes up too, "Do what needs to be done."

"I'm trusting you not to mess this up, cuz," Shaylee says. Jayden just looks down and shakes his head but when he looks up there's a ghost of a smile on his face. As Jayden walks towards Kevin the gap sensor goes off, startling them all.

"Nighlok attack. Jayden! What now?" Kevin asks.

Ji runs out, "Rhinosnorus is back."

Jayden reaches into his back pocket and pulls out the two discs he grabbed from his room; the tiger and beetle discs. "Here," he says holding them out to Kevin.

"I don't understand," Kevin replies, his brow furrowed.

"With these discs, you can form the megazord without me. I need you to lead the team until I get back. I know you can do this." Kevin hesitate for a moment before taking the discs.

"It would be an honour. I won't let you down Jayden!" He turns to the other rangers. "Come on rangers! Let's stop that Nighlok." The rangers begin running towards the gate but Nina hesitates, turning back to the red ranger.

"You're coming back," she tells him firmly and he nods before she goes and follows her fellow rangers.

* * *

Reaching the city hall again, the rangers see the Nighlok terrorising people, threatening to eat them now instead of putting them in a dream world. Kevin sends his dragon folding zord towards Rhinosnorus who's about to take a big chunk out of a man.

"Alright team! We can do this!" Kevin calls as they arrive on the scene, the civilians managing to escape.

"Samuraizer, go, go samurai!" The rangers call to morph, seeing that the coast is clear. Once their morph is complete the rangers simultaneously say, "Rangers together! Samurai forever!"

"For Jayden!" Kevin yells as they run into battle. They don't struggle too much as the Nighlok calls forth some moogers. Exchanging her spin sword for her lightning mace Nina is able to clear a path, destroying moogers fast enough to help Kevin destroy the Rhinosnorus. When they manage to destroy the Nighlok is his current form, it goes mega mode forcing them to activate the megazord which they can thankfully do with the help of Jayden's discs.

* * *

Hours later back at home, Jayden has a sling for his arm and is standing outside in outdoor dojo with Kevin and Mike. As soon as the rangers defeated the Nighlok, they rushed to the beach to check on their leader. They found him kneeling on the ground, dirty, tired and his arm was injured but apart from that he seemed pretty okay. After he assured them that Deker was home they helped him back home.

"Kevin, thank you for leading the team when I couldn't," Jayden says.

"It was an honor," Kevin smiles, "but it's not my job."

"There can only be one red ranger," Mike says knocking his fist with Jayden's before fist bumping him.

"Guys, dinner is served!" Antonio announces, wheeling a tray into the courtyard. Lifting the golden (of course) cover off the top, it reveals a large fish.

"Dude, that fish went mega mode," Mike grins.

"Hey, when I serve a fish to my friends, it's gotta be the best," Antonio says as they walk over. "I'm gonna go call Ji and the girls. We'll make a whole meal out of it," he says running inside causing the others to laugh at his hyperactivity.

* * *

Soon enough, they're all at the table outside, Antonio serving them all.

Jayden speaks up, "Everyone, I just want to say I'm sorry. I know I had to deal Deker to stop him from hurting people, but…" Jayden hesitates for a moment. "I also think something in me wanted to fight him to prove myself worthy of being the red ranger."

"No Jayden, he forced your hand," Emily assures him

"You did what you had to do," Mike adds.

"And even if you did think that," Nina says, "You should know that you've more than proved yourself. Way before you fought Deker."

"Thank you but there's still much to do, and I promise I won't ever jeopardise our mission again," Jayden tells them.

"Deker's gone but Master Xandred is still out there and until he's defeated, no one is safe." Kevin reminds them.

"As rangers, it's our responsibility to save the world from the Nighlok. I'm just grateful we don't have to do it alone," Jayden tells them. He may be strong but no one could do this battle on their own.

"I think this calls for a toast," Shaylee says, looking around at the others. They all smile knowing what she's thinking.

"Rangers together, samurai forever!"

_**Chapter sixteen! Whoop, whoop! I know it's kinda short but trust me the next chapter (the Christmas chapter! Finally!) more than makes up for it in length! And as you've probably noticed by now, the ones with more of my own plot tend to be longer so be ready on Tuesday. I know I don't usually write much for the battle scenes, I just feel like I wouldn't write them right but if you want me to try, just let me know. Anyways, just warning you that you are quickly catching up to the chapter I'm currently working on so it's possible that in a few of weeks I may have to change the chapter updates to once a week but I'll let you know if it comes to that. Thanks for reading **_


	17. House of Christmas

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 17: House of Christmas**

The past couple of weeks the Nighlok attacks had been getting tougher but at the same time, less frequent. It was strange but the rangers were willing to accept it as a Christmas miracle. It had given them enough time to go shopping for gifts, decoration and ingredients. It was the rangers first Christmas together, away from wherever they usually have it and who they usually have it with. It was the 23rd now though and since it seemed unlikely that there would be many more attacks Nina figured that if she were going to go anywhere now would be a good time to go… and by anywhere, she meant the palm woods. She'd promised she'd visit them before Christmas and before they were going back to Minnesota but even though she'd planned on keeping that promise, every time she tried to visit them something would happen keeping her back; Nighlok attacks, training, helping Mia cook or cooking herself, someone would need her help or they would just so happen to be going out too and she would have to stick with them (not that she didn't like going out with them, she just didn't want them to know where she was really going). Today, however, was finally the day she could go. Unfortunately, she was pretty sure they would have already left so she was planning on just leaving her gifts and cards at the front desk; she even brought something for Mr Bitters so he would be more willing to keep the things safe until they got back since it was clear he wasn't their biggest fan. As she enters though she sees the front desk is empty. She furrows her brow, putting her bags down; the pool had been deserted too… was it possible that no one was here? No, the door was open. There's no way _everyone _had left, was there? Even Mr Bitters?

"Nina?"

The purple ranger turned around to see Mrs Knight.

"Mrs Knight? Hi, what are you doing here?" She asks confused.

"I live here," she replies.

"Right, sorry."

"Do you want to come up? The boys and Katie are all there," she says walking over to her.

"Yeah, sure." She picks up her bags before joining Mrs Knight.

"Do you want me to help with those?" The older woman asks, pushing the button on the elevator but Nina shakes her head.

"No, it's cool. I've got it," she says as the doors open, and they walk into the elevator. "I'm glad to see that you're all still here but the guys and Katie told me you guys were going back to Minnesota for Christmas."

"Yeah, we were supposed to but have the boys told you about Griffin?" she asks. Nina nods her head, tentatively. They'd mentioned that he was Gustavo's - their manager - boss and he could be a real… handful, sometimes. "Well, he decided that they needed a Christmas ep and they had to record a whole album and three of the songs had to have guest singers. They just managed to do it, but we missed our flights and the rest have been cancelled due to bad weather, so we're stuck here," she explains just as the doors open.

"Oh, they must be heartbroken. I know they were really looking forward to going," Nina sighs. They'd all seemed so excited about finally being able to go home and see some snow and friends and family.

"They are. They've been lying in the living room with Katie since they got back a couple of hours ago. Hopefully, seeing you will cheer them all up a bit," she smiles at the teen. "You seem to have that effect on all of them." Nina can't help but blush at that statement just as Mrs Knight opens the door.

"Mum were you able to book a flight?" A female voice says, from the chair. None of them even look over at the door. Katie's lying on the red couch with her brother, looking up. Logan's on the floor and James and Carlos are nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sorry guys but there just aren't any to book," she sighs as Nina shuts the door behind her. "It looks like we're spending Christmas here but on the bright side, I was able to find this one."

"Who?" Nina hears a voice that sounds like Carlos, but it sounds kind of echo-y. Is he in the slide?

"Me," Nina says, and Kendall and Katie sit up hearing her voice.

"Nina!" Katie exclaims getting up and coming over to her as Logan sits up too.

"Nina?" She hears, James this time, before there's a couple of banging and Carlos and James pop out of the slide.

"Hey guys," she says, hugging Katie.

"We haven't seen you in weeks," the younger girl says as they break apart before she hugs the guys too.

"I know, I'm awful! Sorry! I've just been so, so busy and I'm technically not supposed to be here but the past few days have been looking very hopeful and I seem to be free today and I know I promised to visit before Christmas so here I am," she explains, walking over to the couch with her bags, putting them down beside her as she sits next to Kendall. "Honestly, though, it looks like you guys have been pretty busy too."

"What do you mean?" Kendall asks as the other join them. She smiles at him before she starts,

"Well, you were on the news a few weeks ago for performing the middle of the street causing major traffic."

"Oh, that's a long story," James laughs.

"It was a good song though," she points out. The boys thank her before she continues. "Oh, and I heard about that contest where fans got to hang out with you guys for a day."

"Kendall's kid ending up having a huge crush on Katie," Logan tells her.

"Really?" Nina grins as the younger girl shakes her head.

"It was so annoying," she groans, causing Nina to laugh. "Let's not talk about it."

"Come on, you know you loved that dance at least a little bit," Carlos cooed, resulting in Katie hitting him.

"I did not!" Nina continues laughing, deciding to change the topic to save… well she didn't really know which one of the two she would be saving.

"Didn't you guys go to jail at some point too?" She asks, remembering Shaylee telling her about it. She didn't intentionally go out of her way to find this stuff out; Shaylee was just a big fan of the band, so she was the one to tell Nina of a lot of their antics.

"We can explain that," Kendall says, quickly.

"Mhmm. Also, should I even ask about that 'giant turd' song?" Everyone just burst out laughing at the mention of that.

"Nina, you have missed out on a lot," James sighs dramatically.

* * *

"Katie, Katie, Katie," Nina sighs, jokingly. "The red with the white is such a rookie washing mistake. Being a mum is not easy work."

"Thank you!" Mrs Knight says, from the kitchen. They'd all been talking for about an hour now (Nina had draped her jacket on the chair, about half an hour ago) and she was happy to see them all smiling now. At this rate, Christmas could maybe not be a disaster.

"Well, I know that now!" Katie replies as Nina smiles.

"And, you," Nina says turning to Kendall. "You seriously wrote that giant turd song?"

"It was a spur of the moment thing," he points out.

"What moment?" She asks, genuinely intrigued. It's such a random song!

"It was actually before we were even a band," he begins explaining. "All of the others had auditioned for Gustavo and he shut them all down, even James who actually wanted to be there. When I saw, it just kind of came to me on the spot."

"It was amazing! The best thing I'd seen," Carlos tells her, laughing at the memory.

"I wish I had been there," Nina says.

"Maybe you can be…" Kendall says, trailing off as he looks at the rest of the band. Nina can see their communicating in some intense secret bro way. She looks at Katie but she's smiling as though even she knows what they're planning. Nina smiles nervously as she looks between them… then they start singing.

"_Oh, you're such a turd, oh yeah a giant turd and you look like a turd and you smell like a turd," _they sing, quietly at first. Nina's mouth drops. They begin getting louder as they continue, standing up on the chairs and tables. Nina can't help but laugh at them.

"Okay, okay!" Mrs Knight says after a couple of minutes.

"You guys are insane," she smiles as they all sit back down, Kendall slightly closer than before. "How did you get a job after that?"

"Apparently, Gustavo liked his energy," Katie says.

"I can see why," she replies, looking down and seeing the bags before she remembers something. "Oh no!"

"What's wrong?" Kendall asks as she fishes something out of one of the bags.

"I totally forgot about the mac and cheese I brought," she sighs as she pulls out a tray from a bag before taking it over to the kitchen where Mrs Knight is.

"You brought us mac and cheese? That's so sweet," she says taking it from the girl.

"Yeah, it was supposed to be a sort of 'sorry, I've been A.W.O.L. for over a month' gift but by the time we made it, I thought you guys would've left so I froze it and was supposed to ask Mr Bitters to keep it frozen until you guys got back," she explains. "But even in the temperature control bag I think it may have defrosted a bit."

"Nina, this was so thoughtful, don't worry about it! We'll have it tonight," Mrs Knight smiles.

"I hope you like it," she grins as she goes back to sit with the other as Mrs Knight put the dish in the fridge before leaving the room.

"Nina, you didn't have to do that," Kendall tells her but Carlos interrupts before she can reply.

"What he actually meant to say was that we appreciate receiving food anytime."

"Noted," Nina replies, nodding once. "But that actually just reminded me of why I came here." She pulls the bags in front of her.

"Yeah, I've been wondering what the bags are for," Katie says.

"These are actually for you guys," she says. "I heard about what happened with your flights and I'm sorry about that but on the bright side, I get to give you guys these." She begins pulling out gift bags for each of them. They weren't huge but she was pretty content with what she got them; she'd also put their cards in there too.

"You got us Christmas gifts? You're the best!" Carlos says hugging her tight as she hands him his.

"You're welcome," she smiles. "But don't open them until Christmas!" She says as James starts peering into the bag, removing the tissue paper. He glances up at her, putting the tissue paper back in. "Where's your mum gone?" She asks Katie, who takes the bag.

"I'll take it to her. She's probably gone to her room."

"You know we actually got you something too," Logan says getting up from his seat.

"Oh yeah!" Carlos says jumping up too, the other two boys following. They all leave the room before they come back with Katie, carrying a gift-wrapped box and a gift bag.

"You guys didn't have to do this," she breathes.

"Neither did you," Mrs Knight says, entering as Katie hands them to her.

"Thank you so much," she smiles at them all.

"You deserve it," Logan replies as they sit back down in their spaces.

"I'm gonna go and start cooking. Nina, are you going to stay for dinner? It'll probably be ready in about an hour," Mrs Knight asks.

"No, I should actually probably be going in a minute. I should get back home," she says, checking her watch. She really hadn't planned on staying at all, considering she didn't even think they were here. She had to go help with the decorating at the Shiba house. They were doing outside today and would finish up decorating inside so she really should be getting back to help.

"Well, that's a shame," Mrs Knight sighs, giving the girl a hug. "We love having you here. You know you're welcome here anytime."

"I do. Thank you," Nina replies as Mrs Knight heads off to the kitchen area. Nina gets up, picking up her actual bag and the gifts, putting the box in the gift bag too. She wasn't going to be hypocritical, so she'd wait until Christmas to open hers too.

"I really should be going now though," she says, knowing none of them will know when that is until the day. Honestly, the rangers next day off after this will most likely be in a couple of months.

"Bye, Nina," Carlos says, giving her a hug. "And merry Christmas!"

"Have a great Christmas," Logan says giving her a hug too, James following.

"Thank you for all of this," James says. Katie approaches next.

"Please don't say away too long, Nina," she says, hugging her as well.

"I wish I could make that promise," she sighs. She told herself (and technically the others too) that after this she wouldn't come here unless it was really necessary. If the Nighlok ever found out who she was…

"I'll walk you down," Kendall says, taking the gift bag from her hand. She smiles at him gratefully.

"Thanks." They walk over to the door together.

"Merry Christmas guys," she waves as they leave.

* * *

"I still can't believe you dressed up as superheroes," Nina laughs.

"We had to! We didn't want to get arrested again but it was our song and we had to get it back," Kendall replied, smiling at her laughing. It had been difficult to tell the story after he mentioned that part because she couldn't help laughing at it even when she tried to stop which made no sense in her head considering her 'day job'. They'd come downstairs talking and they conversation just never finished so they ended up sitting in the lobby chairs. "I get it. I get why you did it," she nods, calming down. "It's fair."

"I'm pretty sure James loved it a bit too much. He's had bandana man as his alter ego since Minnesota," he says, and Nina notices his slight deflation. She reaches over and places her hand over his, making him look up at her.

"I'm sorry that you can't go home for Christmas," she tells him. He just shrugs but she can see that it's bothering him. "I know it won't be the same but the people you care about most are here, right? It's going to be different but you're going to have an amazing Christmas. Just let it happen."

"Thank you, Nina," he replies, turning his hand over under hers, to hold it, squeezing her fingers gently. She looks at their hands, unable to keep her smile down.

"What about you?" He asks, getting attention.

"What about me?" She asks.

"This is your first Christmas away from where you usually have it, right?"

"Yeah, it is," she says, sadly. "I usually spend it with my gran back in Ohio but I'm here now and she's still there… but it's okay." Nina takes a deep breath. She doesn't want to cry and she's not going to. "I miss her, but I've sent her a letter because bless her she can't completely work a laptop to check her email. I'm also pretty happy with where I am now. I love the people I live with and we've been through so much together already, they're easily my family now too. I'm glad to be spending Christmas with them," Nina says honestly.

"I'm happy for you," he replies. "I just wish the other guys' parents could be here too."

"You could video call them all," Nina suggests.

"Huh, that's so true, thanks!"

"Of course," she smiles back. They sit in a comfortable silence for a moment, but Kendall appears to be considering something before eventually deciding to ask,

"So, you were raised by your gran?"

"Yeah," she replies.

"Can I ask what happened to your parents?"

"Both my parents died when I was pretty young."

"I'm sorry for your loss," he says, his eyes softening.

"It's alright," she tells him. "But since we seem to be asking deep questions now do you mind if I ask you something personal which you don't have to answer?"

"Of course not. Shoot."

"...Mr Knight?" His hand clenches slightly in hers and she looks down to realises they're still holding hands.

"...he had an affair and when my mum found out he left us," Kendall says shortly, focusing on something past her. Whoa…

"I'm sorry," she says quietly. "But if he could see all of you now, I think he'd seriously regret a lot of his choices." His eyes shift back to focus on her with an intensity she hadn't seen before.

"So, do I," he agrees to which she smiles.

"Good." She's glad he knows it.

"You're not coming back, are you?" He asks after a moment. It takes her a moment to realise that he realised what she meant when she said she couldn't promise to not be long. She shakes her head.

"Probably not anytime soon, no," she sighs.

"Is there a way to change your mind?"

"Yes but no," she laughs sadly. "It's not that I don't want to visit because it's great being here. You guys are amazing! I just… shouldn't come here anymore." Looking out the window she sees the wind blowing the leaves on the trees out there, which is when she notices that she's missing something. "Kendall, I think I left my jacket upstairs," she says, suddenly. He looks around to see that it is indeed missing.

"We should probably go and get it," he says as she reaches to pick up her bag as he picks up her gift bag. However, before they stand up, they both look at their joined hands then look at each other. Nina looks away first, with a small smile, gently pulling her hand away, losing the warmth of his.

"We should go," she says, standing up.

"Yeah," he nods, getting up too.

* * *

Opening the door to the apartment, Kendall and Nina walk in, the smell of food wafting in the air. Mrs Knight must be done cooking, Nina thinks. On hearing the door open though, Katie looks over from the sink,

"Nina? I thought you left," she asks.

"No, we've been downstairs. I forgot my jacket," she tells her as Kendall hands it to her. She puts her bag down to put it on.

"You guys have been downstairs this whole time?" Carlos asks, eyes wide, from the table with the other and Mrs Knight.

"Yeah," Kendall asks confused. "Why do you look so shocked?"

"Maybe because you guys left almost two hours ago," Logan suggests. What?

"We've not been gone for that long," Nina replies before checking the time. "Or maybe we have!"

"Seriously?" Kendall asks to which she just nods. "I didn't realise it had been that long."

"Neither did I," she replies. "Oh my gosh, I really need to go home."

"Before, you do, how did you make this mac and cheese?" James asks, the others eagerly nodding. "Kendall you have to try it. This is the best mac and cheese I've ever had!"

"Aww thank you," she grins. "But I can't tell you. Secret family recipe."

"Seriously?" Carlos frowns.

"Yeah, sorry. Tell you what? Maybe I'll make it for you again some other time." She glances over at Kendall, shaking her head just slightly. He won't say anything yet. She trusts him not to.

"You are my favourite person!" He exclaims making her laugh. Her gran used to make loads of her dad's old recipes, so she'd feel more at home when she first moved in with her especially since he was a better cook than her mum (she remembers teasing her about it with her dad when she was much younger) so even when she tried to replicate them they were never quite the same but her gran had come very close. By the time she had to leave to join the rangers they were engraved in her brain. Jayden and Kevin had helped her out too. It had been fun cooking with them. "You don't happen to have a secret family corndog recipe, do you?" Nina purses her lips, shaking her head.

"No but I have lasagne," she offers.

"Good enough," he agrees.

"Okay, well I should actually go this time because I actually do need to be home but you guys have an amazing Christmas and happy new year too," she smiles walking to the door opening it before turning back to Kendall who still has her gift bag. He hands it to her before she pulls him into a hug which he returns.

"I'm gonna go on my own so I actually leave this time," she tells him to which he laughs a bit.

"Thank you, for everything," he says quietly before pulling back. "I think we'll have a good Christmas and I'm sure you will too."

"I agree. Thank you too," she smiles. "And I'll see you, eventually."

"Bye Nina," he says as she walks out the door.

* * *

Nina ended up getting back just as they were about to start, some of the boxes out on the porch. She quickly dropped her things off in her room before going out to help. The next day (Christmas Eve!) was spent decorating inside the house but it was actually really fun! Especially when Mentor brought in the huge tree to decorate! Everyone was there, except for Emily. She had was sending an email to her older sister, Serena. It's strange to think that it could've been her with them instead of Emily. No doubt she would be amazing, but it was so clear Emily is a big part of the team, it's strange to imagine her not there. Nina was going to email Eddie tonight. Since he was staying with his dad for Christmas, he was still in England and they were hours ahead of where they are so by the time, she went to bed it was already Christmas there. Also, Eddie had told her he was kind of a kid on Christmas so it was one of the few times of year when he would probably be awake pretty early, and it was true. He responded to her emails pretty quickly, so they'd actually been talking for a couple hours before Nina decided to call it a night.

"It's Christmas! Guys, wake up!" Nina could hear Mike yelling from the living room in the morning. Groaning as she looked at the clock (it was only 6! she was hoping she'd get to sleep in for more than fifteen minutes) she got out of bed, grabbing a hoodie.

"Why is he so awake?" Shaylee asked her roommate. Nina just shook her head, tiredly shrugging, opening the door, yawning. The two of them walked to the living room to see everyone already there.

"There you guys are!" Mike yells loudly, causing Nina to wince at the volume. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas guys!" Nina smiles.

"Merry Christmas," Shaylee cheers, tiredly.

"Alright! Let's get this party started with some Christmas tunes!" Mike says, going to the radio.

* * *

It's much later in the evening when things finally begin winding down. Today had been incredibly fun for everyone! They had spent the day cooking, baking, eating, they even did some karaoke! Ji was awful but it was hilarious. Giving out the gifts had been an amazing experience for all of them too; although it started off as a bit of a prank to Mike. All the presents under the tree had been given out to the team excluding Mike. They had all bought gifts for each other, but the rangers, Shaylee and Ji decided to put their money together to collectively by a gift for Mike; his own motorcycle! He'd loved it so much when he found out that he took it for a spin right away. While he was out however, Nina had gone back to her room. She hadn't opened her gift from Mrs Knight, Katie and the guys so that was what she went to do. Opening them she found few things inside, in the gift wrapped box was a box of chocolates, and in the gift bag there was a notepad, scented body soap and lotion, a couple bottles of pillow mist, a bracelet and comb (definitely James' idea). There was a card in the bag too, which she had already displayed on the desk. At the bottom of the bag was a smaller gift-wrapped box she hadn't see at first. She reached for the box, taking of a little note stuck to it. Unfolding it she sees a short message,

_I hope this helps whenever you feel like you miss the UK _

_\- Kendall_

She unwraps the box to see a cute box with the Union Jack printed around it. A United Kingdom scented candle… it smells just like it. Even before she opens the box, she can smell it already. She doesn't even know how but somehow; this is what being in the UK smelled like. Taking out the candle she takes a deep breath and shutting her eyes she realises it even captures Trudy's cooking! Nina almost tears up. It's perfect, exactly what she didn't know she needed. Deciding to light it, the purple ranger gets up, heading for the kitchen for matches. She finds them in a drawer but when walks out of the door she almost walks in Jayden.

"Whoa, hey," she says.

"Hey," he replies, looking at what's in her hands. "Matches? Were your gifts that bad that you have to burn them?"

"No," she chuckles. "One of them was a candle."

"That makes more sense," he says, grabbing some water from the fridge. Just before Nina's about to leave she remembers,

"Jayden, I actually have something for you."

"You do?"

She nods, "Were you going to your room?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll go and grab it from mine, and I'll bring it over," she says, smiling. She really wanted to see his reaction when she gave it to him, hopefully he would love it! Speed walking to her room, Nina sets the matches down and quickly rummages through her drawer grabbing the present. She hadn't had time to wrap it, but she figured it wouldn't matter now. She shuts her door as she leaves, going down the hall to Jayden's. He opens it after she knocks, inviting her in. She sits on his bed, noting a little stuffed lion. Folding one leg up on it so she can turn to face him, she picks up the lion as he sits down too, slightly further down.

"This is so cute! Who's it from?" She asks, looking at the lion squishy face. It hadn't been there the last time she'd come in a couple of days ago and she doubted he could've (or would've) got it himself, between then and now.

"It's from Emily," he says, looking at the lion too. Looking up, Nina notices a fond smile on his face as he looks at it.

"This was really sweet of her," she replies, playing with the surprisingly soft mane before she puts it back down.

"Yeah, it was," he replies before he seems to snap out of a little daze. Nina wonders is it really the lion that caught his attention or was he thinking about… the person who gave it to him? That's a question for another time!

"Okay, so I didn't actually have time to wrap it up but it's fine," she says and he's smiling at her, which she finds distracting, making her laugh. "Stop smiling like that."

"I'm only smiling because you're so excited," he laughs.

"I can't help it. I really think you're going to like it," she replies.

"Okay, okay!"

"I've actually had since I was a kid but considering all you've been through as a leader and with Deker I think that's it best you have it," she says, pulling out a wooden toy samurai from her pocket and holding it out to him.

"Nina," he smiles, gently taking it from her.

"'As true samurai, your enemies shouldn't scare you; they should-'" Nina begins quoting.

"'Make you better,'" Jayden finishes, looking down at the toy, a small smile on his face.

"I know it's kind of stupid but I -" she begins but he cuts her off.

"Nina, this isn't stupid. At all. It's beautiful," he says earnestly. "Are you sure you want to give it to me? If you've had it since you were so young - are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure," she replies, confidently. "Besides, it's not like it's completely gone anyways. We're all still here."

"Thank you. I really needed this," he says, to which she smiles brightly.

"I really needed this," she replies, pulling out a necklace from her pocket. It had a silver chain and at the end was a purple gem sitting on a silver disc with the wolf kanji inscribed on the back and a silver lightning bolt next to it. It had belonged to the previous purple ranger; her mother. However, Nina had remembered seeing her mother put it on before running into her final battle. She thought it had been lost. "Is this really it? Was this one actually hers or were you able to copy it?" She knew she didn't have to say who she meant. He must know because it couldn't have been a coincidence. Her father had had it custom made for the previous purple ranger, so Jayden definitely hadn't just picked it from a store by chance.

"It was hers," he tells her. Nina feels her eyes begin to water a bit.

"How?" She whispers, running her fingers over the kanji.

"After the battle, the rangers all came back here with… the red and purple rangers' bodies. I didn't know where any of you lived until the day before I sent the arrow so I couldn't send anything to you. Anything of the rangers that you don't have, we most likely have kept here," he explains. "When I was looking through one of the photo albums of the rangers a few weeks ago it reminded me of the necklace. I figured it would mean a lot more to you than it does to me."

"This is amazing," she says. "Thank you." She leans forwards to give him a hug which he returns but they are soon interrupted by a knock on the door. They pull away, Nina wiping a couple of tears away.

"Jayden are you in there?" Emily's voice calls through the door.

"Uh yeah, come in," he replies.

"We were," Emily begins as she opens the door before entering and noticing the purple rangers. "Oh, Nina hey, I was actually about to come and get you. Are you okay?" She asks, noticing her eyes are slightly red around the rims.

"Yeah," she laughs as Jayden gets up to grab a box of tissues. "I'm alright don't worry."

"Are you sure?" The yellow ranger asks, glancing at Jayden as he hands her a couple.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Alright, well we were gonna watch a Christmas film and I wanted to ask if you guys wanted to join," she asks.

"Yeah sure," Nina nods, getting up. "You up for it?" She asks Jayden.

"Yeah, why not?" He shrugs. As they begin to walk out, Nina notices Emily smiling at something before they exit. Turning, she realises she is smiling at the lion.

_**Chapter, Christmas edition, seventeen is out! It's just under a month after Christmas but better late than never in this situation, right? So, Nina and Kendall… interesting. Also, the necklace, I have a couple of potential images but I'm not too sure yet but what I might do is upload it at the story image. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I don't know but I really love this chapter (then again, I really love Christmas so maybe I do know why). See you on Friday and thanks for reading! **_


	18. House of Upgrades

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 18: House of Upgrades**

There hadn't been an attack in weeks! The rangers were shocked but not ungrateful. The last attack had been about a week before Christmas and it was already January now, practically February! It was amazing how much time they had in the day. They could do so much more. Mike had convinced Emily to go out skateboarding with him (they had decided soon after Christmas but before the new year that it was probably best for them to just stay friends), Kevin and Mia decided to go outside to a field to train while Jayden had chosen to stay in the courtyard to do so. Nina had been with him earlier in the day before she left to go and study. She usually stayed in her room but for the past few weeks she had been going out to do so. Sometimes because Shaylee just wanted to go out, so she'd drag Nina along with her and she'd bring her work but sometimes, such as today, she'd go out to meet certain people.

"You study Ancient Egypt in England," Kendall asked. "Why?"

"The school was kind of obsessed with it," Nina replied. The two of them were sitting at the back of a cafe, Kendall's back towards the entrance so people couldn't see his face, so they had less of a chance of being disturbed. He also wore the beanie he had received from Nina for Christmas which made her smile whenever he wore it. It was just him today though; apparently the others had other plans for the day. Not that she ever really planned on meeting them there (knowing that he they were likely to be there didn't count as planned right?). She still hadn't given any of them a way to contact her but around the third time she'd come here with Shaylee, they were earlier than before and it just so happened that Logan and Carlos had gone there too to get coffee. Apparently at least one of them was there every day to get coffee because it was their favourite coffee shop. It also just so happened to be where she met Kelly and Gustavo. "It's also actually surprisingly interesting." Now, however, usually if they were there at the same time and they had time they would sit with Nina for a while before either of them had to leave.

"All I know about it is mummies, pharaohs and Tutankhamun," he shrugs.

"That's a decent start," she points out just as her Samuraizer rings for the first time in weeks. Nina raises her eyebrows, slightly surprised, before quickly turning to answer, hiding her samuraizer from his view.

"Nina," Mike's voice rings through. "You have to come meet us at the bottom of the stairs by park. Quick, it's important."

"Alright, I'm on my way," she replies before shutting her samuraizer and putting it away. "I've got to go."

"It's cool. I should probably be going too," Kendall replies as she packs away her books hastily.

"I'll see you the next time I see you," she smiles quickly, waving as she rushes out of the shop.

* * *

It doesn't take her too long to get to the park. Once there, she sees Shaylee and the rangers, except Antonio all surrounding an area on the pathway.

"I was afraid this would happen," Jayden sighs as she arrives.

"Afraid what would happen?" Nina asks, alerting them of her presence. As she gets closer, she sees a relatively big red puddle which could really only be one thing. "Oh wow! Is that all Sanzu river water?" Jayden picks up a fallen twig and dips it in. It catches alight... he nods.

"This is not good," Kevin says shaking his head and pacing, nervous habit of his Nina had picked up on.

"We've seen the netherworld break through to ours before," Emily points out. Jayden's looking up at her before getting up to answer,

"I know but this much water is really dangerous." Nina sees Shaylee tap Mia before the two of them turn to walk a little further from the group.

"And with pools like these, the Nighlok can rehydrate. Without even going back to the Sanzu river!" Kevin exclaims.

"Guys over here!" Mia calls from a little further away, where she's standing with Shaylee. Running over, Nina stops short, seeing what they've seen. A pool of Sanzu river water still bubbling through a drain.

"Last time that this happened. Mentor said it was a sign that the Nighlok were growing stronger," Kevin says.

"Uh, it gets worse. Look!" Mia says.

"Worse?" Nina sighs before seeing what she just raised her hand to point at. Footprints which definitely aren't human. Mia's right. Definitely worse. Considering how long it had been since an attack, she really should've known the Nighlok were up to something big.

* * *

The rangers decided to split up seeing as there was suddenly a lot more work to do. Mia and Mike stayed behind to follow the footsteps, Jayden and Kevin went to see if they could find the Nighlok and Emily, Shaylee and Nina had been tasked with finding the leaks and blocking them. Shaylee could track them down and Emily could use her symbol power to create rocks and boulders or Nina could use hers to break some bricks down to block them instead. The trio had been working pretty well together until Nina and Emily get calls on their samuraizers. Their calls didn't last long, luckily.

"What were those about?" Shaylee asks, not looking up from her tablet. She was pretty sure she'd found another leak not too far from where they were walking.

"The others want us to meet them in the forest. Mike's been able to track the footsteps and they think they might be getting close," Emily says.

"That was Antonio. Mentor said we need to try and finish the Black Box," Nina sighed, not wanting to leave her teammates but knowing she was needed elsewhere.

"Mentor's right," Shaylee says, looking up at Nina. "Considering how many more leaks there are, the Nighlok are getting much stronger and have a serious advantage over you guys right now. The Black Box is exactly the edge you need." Nina nods, pulling out her disc before handing it to Emily. Ever since Nina had started helping with the Black Box, she'd often had to give the other rangers, usually Emily, her disc so they could form the megazord if she didn't make it in time.

"Shaylee, where's the leak you found? I'll go and seal it before heading back while you guys meet the others."

* * *

Maybe an hour after Nina arrive back home, she and Antonio hear the front door open.

"You check what's going on with them, I'll stay here," Antonio tells her, typing something in his morpher. Nina nods leaving, knowing he'll yell for her if anything happens. Walking into the living room, Nina finds her teammates slightly roughed up but otherwise unharmed.

"What happened?" She asks, startling the rangers and Shaylee with her sudden arrival.

"Mike was able to track our roaming Nighlok, but it was Arachnitor, but he mutated and was so much stronger, so he got away," Kevin explains, clearly bummed about that last part.

"What are you okay? You should've called me."

"It's okay we're fine," Jayden assures her.

"Besides, it's more important that you finish the box. Right now, though we should find where this Nighlok is rehydrating," Emily suggests, the other nodding in agreement.

Shaylee opens the map, as Mentor Ji enters the room, multiple yellow dots appearing.

"There are many spots where the Sanzu river is seeping into our world," Ji tells them.

"At this rate, it looks as though Xandred plans on flooding the Earth," Shaylee adds, frowning.

"We have to work as a team," Kevin says, decidedly. "Even harder than before."

"The Nighlok have tried to ambush us before, this time, it's our turn. We'll ambush him," Jayden says, clearly with a plan in mind. He crouches down at the map.

Emily asks the question all the others are thinking, "But how?"

Jayden smiles, "He'll need to rehydrate," he says tapping the map. "So, we'll catch him at the source."

The others go while Shaylee, Nina and Antonio stay behind.

* * *

"It's okay, it's okay," Nina tells Antonio as he groans, fists clenching his hair. They're so close to completing the Black Box, so close! They just need to complete this last task and they'd have done it but every time it seems to be working it stops. "We've got it this time. We have to. We've come too far not to." Antonio squeezes his eyes shut for a moment before suddenly opening them, his mouth dropping open too.

"Why didn't I think of it before?" he whispers to himself. "Nina, I have an idea." The purple ranger nods, placing the box on the table as gold rangers taps at his morpher. Directing it at the box a stream of symbol power goes straight to the box, raising it and this time… it stays up. _It's working!_ Nina thinks, her smile growing. Soon enough the stream of symbol power stops flowing and the box glows gently, floating back down so Nina can catch it in her hands. Suddenly, in an almost trance-like state, Nina whips out her samuraizer, before drawing the symbols of the ranger's elements, all of them; fire, air, water, earth, forest, lightning and light. Once she completes the seven, she draws one more symbol but before she can even look at what she's drawing properly, she finishes, and she comes too. She doesn't know what it was but clearly… it worked.

"Nina, you did it!" Antonio exclaims, as he runs over engulfing her in a hug which she gladly returns, rocking on her feet for a moment. "Me? Are you kidding? This was both of us!" Nina replies pulling away. "We actually don't have time for this! We have to go help the others," she tells him, turning to leave the room.

"Shaylee! Mentor!" Nina calls, walking into the living room. Mentor Ji's actually already there and Shaylee enters soon enough.

"What's up?" Shaylee asks, looking up at them. Nina hands Antonio the Black Box who holds it up proudly as Nina watches the other twos grins grow.

"We finished it!" Antonio exclaims however when Nina glances at the box that's no longer what she sees. What she does sees however is Jayden and Kevin waiting on the ledge of an abandoned building.

"This must be the source," she hears the red ranger say although his voice is slightly echo-y, far away but there's no mistaking it's him. However, peeking around the corner, she sees Octoroo. She's not exactly there (she's come to realise her vision don't work like that), it's more like she's looking in on whatever's occurring. She also couldn't really control what she saw but focusing on the Nighlok helped her to tune in on what he was saying.

"They think they're going to ambush him but they're in for the surprise. Walk past these," Octoroo was saying holding up two plaques with dark symbols on them, "and say goodbye to your morphing power, rangers!" He places on the wall before moving to another location and placing it all the wall, hiding just before Jayden and Kevin cross the barrier.

"Oh no," Nina breathes before she sees Antonio's handing waving in her face.

"Nina," he says, seeing her eyes focus on him. "What's wrong?"

"We have to go. The others need us," she says, walking towards the door.

"It's okay. They haven't spotted the Nighlok yet," he says slightly worried. "You can rest for a moment."

"No, we can't," the purple ranger says shaking her head. "They don't know why they can't morph!"

"She's right," Shaylee says re-entering the room, with two bottles of water. Nina doesn't even know when she left but Ji's missing too. "Mike just called, they've found the Nighlok and their morphing powers aren't working." Antonio furrows his brow, clearly with a lot of questions but knowing there's no time to get answers now.

"Let's go," he nods.

* * *

Arriving at the scene, Nina and Antonio have already morphed but the other rangers are still stuck in their civilian forms with their spin swords. Nina directs the gold ranger towards the first plaque before going to find the other plaque herself. She and Antonio slice through them, with their spin swords, keeping on the side before the barrier's effects. Luckily, that's all it takes for the barrier to be broken, the rangers in the wrong side gaining their suits, their morphing power back.

"You guys are here!" Emily exclaims as the team regroup.

"How did you know to destroy those plaques?" The blue ranger asks.

"Yeah! You just saved me from having to get a major haircut," Mia tells them.

"Never mind that," Nina says before turning to the red ranger, holding out the Black Box. "We finished it. I think now's a good a time as any to try it out." The others don't need to see his face to know he's smiling as he takes it.

"I think you might be right."

* * *

Those Nighlok's stood no chance against Jayden in his upgraded form. Physically, the main new addition was a white sort of cape jacket, but it was also, so evident Jayden had grown in strength. He cut through the movers and spitfangs like paper before taking down the Nighlok. The other rangers simply stood back admiring his work. Facing the Nighlok in mega mode was a new experience too! The Black Box had made the whole thing much more powerful and combining the clawzord to only improved it more! The rangers also decided to combine the beetle, swordfish and tiger zords with the octozord to create a cannon. However, it required plenty of symbol power do they could only fire it once but being the skilled team, they were, that was all they needed to win. Now they were simply dealing with the aftermath, blocking the remaining pools of Sanzu river water.

* * *

"I just don't understand how you knew," Antonio was telling Nina as they walked back over to where the team said they'd regroup. "it was like you zoned out for a moment and suddenly you knew they were in trouble."

"Did you ever consider that I could be psychic?" Nina asks. He stops pulling her to stop suddenly.

"Are you?" He asks so seriously that Nina can't help but laugh.

"No!" She continues walking. "I don't really know how I knew to be honest." It's not really a lie. Even though it's been about two years she's still not quite sure exactly how her chosen one powers work or even what they all are.

"Good thing that's the last leak," they hear Mia say from around a corner.

"For now," Kevin says as they approach, the blue ranger clearly having just arrived with their leader. Emily pulls away from a side hug from Mike as Antonio speaks up,

"Aww, man! Don't be such a downer we just won."

"Yeah, but I don't like that the Nighlok have found a way to mutate," Emily sighs.

"The threat is growing," Jayden agrees. "but so are we. Thanks to our man Antonio and of course, Nina."

"I hear that. We've finally got an edge on Master Xandred," Mike grins, fist bumping them both.

"We just have to keep on getting better a stronger. We have to be, super samurai," Jayden tells the team who smile at him.

* * *

Later, that evening Nina's sitting on the bed in her room, her United Kingdom candle lit (luckily Shaylee loves the smell, apparently it helps her feel she's there whenever Nina tells her about her time there.) just laying on her bed. She, Antonio and Emily had used a lot of symbol power today, so they were feeling drained so after eating that night everyone just went their own ways, most to their rooms. It wasn't long before Shaylee entered their shared room, sitting cross legged on her bed, eyeing the purple ranger. Even with her eyes shut she could feel her staring at her, mainly due to lack of movement and the fact that she hadn't said anything when she entered.

"Yes?" Nina asks, opening her eyes and turning her head towards her.

"How did you know that they couldn't morph?" She asks.

"I already told you I have no idea. I just did," Nina replies shrugging.

"The same way you just knew how to active the Black Box?"

"I guess so," Nina replies, getting uncomfortable with the questions now. She didn't want to lie or at least keep secrets, but she didn't think she was supposed to tell them about the whole chosen one thing. However, considering how often it seemed to be helping her situation with the rangers maybe… maybe she was wrong. Maybe she could tell them… not now though. Luckily Shaylee seems to get that she doesn't really want to talk about it.

"Sorry, I know you don't really want me to quiz you about this right now," she sighs. "It just seems a little weird… and I promise this is the last question, but do you recognise this?" She holds up a sheet of paper with a kanji on it. At first Nina is more than ready to say no but just as she opens her mouth to say so, the image flashes in her head and she knows it's not for the first time.

"Yeah," she nods. "I do." It's the symbol she drew on the Black Box. The one she forgot almost immediately.

_**Whoa chapter eighteen already?! You guys are seriously catching up quick…? I mean, I guess technically I'm catching up with myself but still. I know I'm a little late, so sorry about that, today (well I guess yesterday) was just super busy but don't worry, friday should be nice and prompt (meaning anytime on Friday). I realised I forgot to mention in the previous chapter that Jayden's arm had healed just before Christmas just to his samurai strength (and the help from Shaylee and a touch of symbol power didn't hurt anyone either). Ooh what's so special about the symbol? I don't think I've even decided yet! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and of course I'll see you on Tuesday. Thanks for reading! **_


	19. House of Amnesia

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 19: House of Amnesia **

"I am getting sick of you rangers always destroying my friends! After what you did to my brother, I'm finally able to put a stop to that!" The Nighlok yells as Nina fights her relentless group of moogers with her spin sword while Emily attempts to defeat their latest threat; Preascor. He had and orange torso as well as blue arms and legs, with red gloves and clown shoes to finish them off.

"Stop terrorising people and we'll stop fighting back," Nina retorts.

"Or you could just forget to do so," the Nighlok yells, Emily hitting his arm.

"Not a chance!" Emily exclaims.

"You want to bet?" Nina hears Preascor snarl before hearing Emily yell,

"No!" Getting worried Nina takes out her lightning disc before attaching it to her spin sword.

"Lightning fury!" She exclaims, slashing through the moogers, destroying them, creating a clear pathway to the Nighlok and Emily… and Jayden laying on the floor, demorphed.

"Actually, I'm feeling a bit parched now. I think I'm going to go have a soak. See ya!" He waves, jumping through a gap before Nina can get to him but almost as soon as he's gone, he's forgotten as Nina runs to her leader, dropping her morph on the way over. The moogers surrounding her other teammates disappear a moment after the Nighlok.

"Jayden! Jayden wake up!" She says as the yellow ranger pulls his head into her lap.

"Nina?" Mike says from behind her before seeing the fallen ranger. "Jayden!"

"What happened?" Antonio asks running over.

"I don't know! I couldn't see," Nina explains as Kevin and Antonio move to lift the red ranger.

"The Nighlok took off his glove and was going to attack me but Jayden appeared to push me out of the way but when the Nighlok touched him he demorphed," Emily explained.

"Okay, let's just get Jayden home so we can deal with this there," Mia suggests giving Emily a hand up.

* * *

Before they arrived at home Nina had called Shaylee to ask her to find as much information as she could on Preascor. However by the time they'd arrived she'd not been able to find anything and Jayden was still out of it. Shaylee had checked on him, shooing the rangers away the train so she could have some space.

"You guys, I know you're worried but I've checked all I can until he wakes up. Everything seems to be fine though she may have a slight concussion," she'd told them.

* * *

It was a couple hours later when Nina and Emily entered the room to check on their teammate. They'd stayed by the door just watching him for a few moments, knowing there wasn't really anything they could do for him. Nina was partially there for herself (to see Jayden's okay), for Jayden (once again just to check he's okay) but mainly for Emily. She knew the yellow ranger felt that Jayden was in the situation because of her and she felt awful. Nina wanted to support her and assure her that no one blamed her for it even if she blamed herself. Jayden starts to shift in the bed, the first time anyone's seen him move since he got back. Emily's eyes widen as she takes a few steps forwards.

"Jayden?" Nina says, seeing if he's awake. However, she doesn't get an answer, he just stops moving, his breathing evening out. Sighing in disappointment, Nina leans against the wall while Emily goes closer. She takes his hand, sitting by his bed.

"I'm sorry Jayden. I promise, I'll help you get out of this," she says quietly, but the purple ranger still hears her. She gives his hand a final squeeze before getting up and walking back over to Nina. "We should go. Mia's out with mentor buying ingredients for dinner. We should eat before they get back"

"Yeah, you're right" Nina agrees, slinging her arm over Emily's shoulders, giving her a reassuring hug as she reaches forward to open the door.

"Where am I?" A voice that's not either of theirs says. It's from behind them. Turning around, shocked, the girls see Jayden beginning to sit up. They both speed over to his bed, Emily giving him a hug.

"I'm so glad you're awake!" She says pulling away quickly before turning to Nina. "I'll go and call Shaylee."

"Okay, I'll wait here," she replies as the yellow ranger leaves the room.

"Why am I here? What happened?" Jayden asks Nina who sits on the bed next to his.

"You're stupid, noble self blocked Emily from being attacked by a Nighlok but you got hit yourself and demorphed. Also be careful not to move to suddenly," Nina says getting up to put a hand on his shoulder as he tries to get out of bed. "You fell without your suit so you might have a concussion." Shaylee enters the room with Emily close behind her.

"Demorphed?" Jayden says furrowing his brow.

"Jayden, thank God you're awake! I'm just going to run a few tests to make sure you're okay," Shaylee says, opening a couple of drawers to look for the equipment.

It doesn't take too long for Shaylee to finish checking him, both Nina and Emily waiting in the room. Mia and Mentor still weren't back yet, Antonio had gone fishing so he was on his way back and Mike and Kevin were just changing; they'd been training so Shaylee had made them go and shower before they came in.

"Okay, you should really be good to go," Shaylee says putting her torch away. "How do you feel?"

"My head actually feels a little bit weird but I think I'm okay," he replies.

"You probably just need a bit more rest. You're okay, Jay," she smiles but as the blue and green rangers enter she can see his slightly confused look. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… how do you know my name?" Shaylee furrows her brows this time.

"...I mean we're kind of related so it would be weirder if I didn't," she replies slowly.

"You're my sister?" He asks causing Nina and Emily to look up suddenly, Shaylee's eyes flicking between the two of them, clearly just as confused. The boys had no clue what was going on.

"What? No, I'm your cousin," Shaylee says.

"Jayden, do you know who I am?" Nina asks, the red ranger turning to her. He hesitates before answering, shaking his head.

"No. You were here when I woke up." Nina inhales sharply looking between the girls who seem just as lost as her.

"Jayden, what's the last thing you remember?" She asks. He opens his mouth, taking a breath as though to answer but exhales shortly looking away even more lost. He seems to genuinely have to think before he turns back to her.

"I have no idea," he breathes. "What happened to me?" Nina gets up placing a hand on his arm.

"Okay Jayden, I'm Nina. I have an idea so I might be able to help you but I'm going to need help and it may take a bit of time," she said to him before looking at her other teammates, locking eyes with Emily. The yellow ranger nods, ushering the blue and green rangers out while Nina moves away, Shaylee steps forward to check on Jayden.

"I'm going to need help researching into this. I know we couldn't find anything before but now I think I know what to look for and we might need the others to help when they get back too," Nina says.

"Yeah, of course," Kevin nods.

"I do need one of you to stay with Jayden though, just so he's not alone," Nina says and Kevin opens his mouth the answer but Emily beats him to it.

"I'll do it."

"Awesome," she says before grabbing the boys wrists before either of them can argue. "Let's go!"

* * *

"I'm sorry this must be super weird for you," Emily says. It's just her and Jayden in the hospital room now. Shaylee left to help the other rangers with their research so Emily had been trying to help him remember things.

"You mean finding out that apparently I'm not only a 'power ranger'," he says putting air quotes around the words. "But the leader of a whole team or not recognising any of the people I've lived with for over four months now or the house I've spent my whole life in? It's a bit weird, yeah," he replies before sighing. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she says getting up from the bed next to Jayden's. "We've been in here for a while now and Shaylee said you're okay so if you want, I could show you around the house," Emily suggests.

"Yeah!" Jayden exclaims, clearly wanting to leave the room. "That would be great. Maybe I'll remember something." He gets up and out of the bed, putting on shoes besides it (Emily assured him they were his) before the two leave the room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nina, Kevin, Mike and Antonio were all in the main room reading through the books. When Nina had seen that Jayden had appeared to have lost his memory alarm bells started ringing in her head. She'd read about a Nighlok like Praescor before.

"'Amniscor's poison'," she'd read out. "'Is contained in his hands. One touch will take away his victims episodic memories, Nighlok included.' That must be why he wears the gloves, so he doesn't take away other Nighloks memories!"

"Okay, but we're not fighting Amniscor," Mike pointed out moving besides her to read over her shoulder. "It says right here that the rangers destroyed Amniscor years ago."

"Yes, but don't you remember when we were fighting Praescor earlier, he mentioned something about rangers destroying his brother. I'm willing to bet that this is him," Nina replied.

"That makes sense actually! I just read something about the cure the rangers were able to make for the people that had been affected," Kevin said, moving back to pick up his book, flipping to a specific page. That was how the team found themselves spread out so far now. When Mia and Ji had got back, Mike explained the situation to them. They'd made a list of the things they needed but there were still a few things missing. Unfortunately, the book they'd found was quite old and part of the page that was in English had been stained so only the Japanese translation was left but Ji had already left to collect a rare but vital herb for the serum and the only other person would could probably understand as much as Ji couldn't even remember his room. Luckily the rangers weren't completely hopeless. Nina's grandmother had taught her a bit of Japanese when she was younger but as she began focusing more on training and technique the lessons became less frequent until she left for England then they stopped altogether but the purple ranger could still roughly translate some of the things. However, with the Wi-Fi conveniently being down today, it took a while for them to get all the answers they needed.

* * *

Shaylee had gone to the hospital so see how many people have been admitted for spontaneous amnesia; this way they'd know how much to make. One of the ingredients was fatty fish oil so Antonio had naturally been the one to volunteer to collect as much as he could. Mia had gone with Nina into town to buy a few more things while Kevin and Mike had raided the cupboards back at the house for missing ingredients. Once the rangers regrouped there was one item left on the list that Nina just couldn't translate. _芳香性樹皮香辛料_

"Guys, I don't know. All I can get is spicy and aromatic."

"But that could mean anything," Mike points out as the three of them walked to the kitchen where they see Mia cooking. Grimacing at what he smells, Kevin turns to the other two.

"I really wish we ate while researching," he whispers, knowing Mia's only going to make more now to keep their energy up.

* * *

They'd almost been around the whole house at this point. Jayden hadn't remembered much but he did seem to recognise a few things for example before they entered the indoor dojo Emily stopped the two of them, in front of seven wooden plaques, each with their elements on them.

"I've seen these before," Jayden says.

"We've seen a few around the house," Emily tells him, but he shakes his head.

"No, not then. I mean _before_," he says, stepping forwards to touch one. Fire. "Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Forest, Lightning and Light."

"That's right. That's exactly right!" Emily grins as he touched each one in turn. She places a hand behind his shoulder, making him turn to her. "Come with me. I want to try something." She leads him to the inside dojo, by the weapons holder, picking up two wooden katanas, handing one to Jayden.

"This is a katana," Emily explains taking a few steps back.

"A Japanese samurai sword," Jayden nods.

"Exactly," Emily smiles. "You're usually amazing one of these in your hands. The best of us, the only ones even coming close are Kevin or Nina." He could put the names to the faces by now. "Do you remember using one of these?"

"No. I don't even know where to -" he begins but cuts himself off when Emily swings her sword at him, and he easily parries it away causing the blonde to grin wide.

"How did I do that?" he asks, almost dropping the sword in shock.

"Muscle memory. I guess your body still remembers how to fight," she says as he blocks another swing. "Even if your head doesn't." She moves forwards to take his sword from him before putting the two of them away.

"How long have we been doing this?" he asks her.

"Well, all of you guys started a lot younger than I did, maybe around six or seven. Nina's the youngest of us so she started around five. I wasn't actually supposed to the yellow ranger. My older sister, Serena, got sick so I only started training to take her place about two years ago, so while I am pretty good with my sword you guys are definitely better. But I have definitely improved since we first came together," she says moving forwards, but her foot gets caught on the wheel of the weapons holder causing her to begin falling. While Jayden's reflexes kick in and he reaches out to catch her, Emily's flailing causes them both to fall. Jayden lands on top of her, almost crushing her but luckily, he was able to catch himself on the arms before he could do so.

"I'm also usually pretty clumsy," Emily laughs, blushing slightly partially due to embarrassment but mostly due to the fact that Jayden's face in mere inches from hers.

"Noted," he laughs too, rolling to the side to he's laying on the floor beside her now. "I imagine that's not my most graceful moment either," he points out making her smile. They simply lay there in silence for a few moments before Jayden speaks up.

"Why did you volunteer to help me today?"

"What do you mean?" The yellow ranger asks, turning her head to face the red.

"Earlier when I was in the hospital room and Nina took everyone outside except me and my cousin, the door wasn't shut so we could hear you guys," he explains. "Not that I mind at all because I don't! I was just wondering…"

"Honestly, it's kind of my fault you're in this situation," she begins, Jayden now turning his head towards her confusion in his eyes, urging her to elaborate. "When I was fighting the Nighlok, it was stronger than I could handle, and it was supposed to hit me but you pushed me out of the way and got hit instead."

"So, you've spent your day with me out of pity? And here I was thinking that you just cared," he teases, making her giggle.

"Hey," She say pushing his shoulder lightly. "I do care."

"I'm kidding," he grins. "but I don't blame you. You don't seem like you wanted me to get hurt and besides, if it's anyone's fault it's mine. If I am as good as you've made me sound, then I must have known what I was doing when I made my decision to protect you."

"That's the thing though. I don't need protecting but you've always got my back when I need it. I just hate when you happen to get hurt for my sake."

"Well, we're on the same team, of course I'd always have your back. Besides, from what I've seen and heard it seems as though you're important to me," he says, causing Emily's breath to hitch before she exhales. She doesn't know how to respond and luckily, she doesn't have to because just then a voice comes from the door, making her sit up and turn to it.

"Hey guys," Nina says. "Mia said to call you guys. Dinners ready." Emily nods at Nina before turning to Jayden.

"Okay, so let me tell you something about Mia's cooking."

* * *

After calling Jayden and Emily to dinner Nina, went back to the living room to grab the book with the ingredients. She'd seen Mia begin to dish out the food and the sounds it was making just weren't appealing. She also seen her add chocolate and anchovies to the same pot before topping it with cheese. She was hoping that if she could distract herself with research at the table, Mia wouldn't notice when she didn't eat much. Taking a seat at the end of the table, next to Jayden she opened the book in front of her and began reading it again.

"Hey Nina, any ideas on what it could be?" Mike asks, looking over at her as he puts his fork down. He already knew the answer, but Nina figured she'd save him from the meal too.

"No. I'm still just getting spicy and aromatic. There's another word but I just don't know what it is," Nina sighs just as Mia walks over to her with two plates. She slides one in front of Jayden who thanks her before pulling the book from Nina's hands. The purple ranger tries to resist but soon relents.

"None of that talk at the table," Mia says, leaving the book open but placing it slightly further away Nina, to her left.

"But Mia, we need to figure out how to make this cure and the answer to that is the mystery Japanese ingredient," Nina argues.

"You can look at it after you eat. You've been working all day! You need energy."

"Not from this she doesn't," Kevin mutters causing Nina to glare at him.

"What did you say?" Mia asks but Nina saves him.

"It doesn't matter. What does matters is that we're able to get this cure for Jayden and all the other people who've been affected," Nina explains.

"Fifty-four," Shaylee says entering the kitchen, her jacket hung on her arm. She must've just got back. She flinches when she sees the food but quickly recovers. "Fifty-four other people have been affected."

"See! We have to-" Nina cuts herself off suddenly because she was sure she just heard Jayden mutter something. She slowly turns her head towards him. "What did you just say?"

"Hōkō juhi supaisu?" He repeats. No way…

"Jayden, can you understand what that says?" The purple rangers asks and surprisingly the red ranger nods.

"It says 'aromatic bark spice.'"

"You still understand Japanese," Nina states.

"Apparently. Not that I remember even learning it," he shrugs.

"You have no idea how big of a help this is. Thank you," she smiles softly.

"That's great! So all we need to do now is wait for the Wi-Fi to come back on so we can find out what this aromatic bark spice is," Mike grins but Nina shakes her head.

"No need. It's cinnamon," she says.

"You're sure?" Emily asks. Nina nods her head.

"It's always cinnamon," she mutters shaking her head to herself, remembering her last year at Anubis house. One of the tasks down in the tunnels, required them to figured out the 'sweet smell of mourning essence' and _of course _it had been cinnamon then too!

* * *

It wasn't too long after they figured out their missing ingredient that Antonio arrived back with the fish oil (which reeked!) so Nina used that as her excuse to leave dinner and begin working on the cure, promising Mia she would eat later. It ended up taking her longer than planned to create the mixture, since she had to do some math to work out the new measurements and even though it smelled pretty bad, she actually didn't mind too much. It was actually kind of interesting to mix them all and see it turn different colours; it made her feel as though she was in a potions class in Harry Potter. That though however lead to her thinking about school which inevitable reminded her of the school work she was yet to do that day. Luckily, it reached a point in the process of making it were she had to leave the mixture to stand for forty-five minutes so she used this time to grab her textbook and notes from her room and bring it out to the patio, where she was working. It was when she had been working for just over thirty-five minutes that she heard someone else step out. Looking up she sees that it's Jayden.

"Hey," she says.

"Hi," he replies. "Is it cool if I sit?"

"Yeah, of course!"

"What are you doing?" He asks, looking at her notebook.

"I went to a boarding school in England before but I had to leave at the end of last year for this whole ranger thing but it's supposed to be my last year where I'm meant to graduate, so with a lot of pleading and convincing from Mentor and gran I'm still enrolled, but I'm allowed to study here. I just have to try and stay on top of it all," Nina explains. "Hopefully, we'll be able to stop Master Xandred before my final exams, they call them A-Levels there, but if not… well we'll deal with that if it gets to that I guess."

"So your a part time power ranger, part time student?" He summarises.

"More like full time power ranger, most time student," she corrects.

"That sounds like a lot for a…" he trailed off but Nina thinks she knows where he was going with his sentence.

"Seventeen. I'm seventeen," she reminds him. "And it is but I'm used to it."

"Seventeen. Right... and everyone else..."

"Emily and Shaylee are both eighteen, while you and everyone else except Mentor and Antonio are nineteen. Antonio's twenty but I don't think Ji would want me to say. Don't worry, at this time tomorrow, you'll know plenty about all of us," she assures him.

"You seem really dedicated to helping me get my memories back."

"Well, yeah." Nina puts her notebook on the chair beside her, knowing she's probably not going to get much more done. "I just figured your memories might be something you'd want. Especially in our profession."

"Right as power rangers. It'd be useful if I remember a bit more about all of you guys."

"Oh well, I could help you with that," Nina says shifting in her seat slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, ask me what you want to know about us and I'll do my best to answer."

"Okay then," he says, looking away for a moment as he thinks before looking back up. "What am I usually like? Like with the team? My relationship with everyone?"

"Well, with the team, like when we're all together, you're an amazing leader! You know that you're a better fighter than all of us but you don't rub it in our faces. You train with us and help to become so much better and you learn things from us too! We're definitely much stronger than when we first started, you included.

"Mentor Ji practically raised and trained you so he's a sort of father figure to you. The two of you have a special bond. It's pretty sweet especially because it's clear how proud of you he is.

"Shaylee, is what we like to call our assistant mentor but she's also your cousin. I was friends with her when we were younger too. She moved to Australia with her parents when she was five though, hence the accent. She only recently came back but the two of you are still pretty close. Especially since she's actually a pretty good fighter herself so you guys train together sometimes.

"You and Mia are good friends. She's very maternal but still sees you as our leader. You both have great respect for the other but one thing none of us do is tell her how awful her cooking is. It would hurt her feelings but when your training late and she makes you something, you usually at least attempt to try it even if she's not watching because you really do appreciate it.

"Mike and Kevin are basically your younger, polar opposite twin brothers. Kevin is very dedicated to the samurai way of life and looks up to you. He likes to learn from you but he is definitely an incredibly good samurai and he knows that too. Mike on the other hand, is a great samurai too, don't get me wrong. He just likes to have a lot more fun while doing so, on occasion too much but he never forgets to remind us all to enjoy ourselves hence him taking you to the arcade to teach you how to play the games when we're free.

"Oh and Antonio! He was your childhood best friend but he had to move away. However, you gave him a zord when he did and he continued to train so he could come back and fight with you. Now he's here, and even though you've both grown up and spent so much time apart it was like he never even left. Apart from the fact that now he spends a lot of time doing his favourite hobby; fishing and you, training.

"You and Emily are pretty close too. You've probably already noticed but she's such a sweetheart and she tries to take care of us all. She's so nice but she won't take attitude from anyone and can definitely hold her own. You two are interesting, honestly. We all defend each other in battle, we're a team and we look out for one another but the way you and Emily protect each other or take care of each other is unique. You guys may be quite different with your styles of fighting but the two of you together is a unique combo because you complement each other so well."  
Jayden smiles fondly as she speaks but when she ends he squints a bit. "And what about us?"

"Our relationship?"

"Yeah," he nods. "Like you said you knew my cousin too. Did we know each other?"

"We actually lived in different states. You were here in California and I was in Ohio. Shaylee's parents travelled between the two a lot. She lived in Ohio but she was here with you a lot after the big battle; the red and purple rangers were lost that day so you and I both lost our parents and she was trying to be there for both of us. She did talk about you sometimes. You and I have a good relationship now though. We talk a lot about a lot of things. Sometimes to do with being a samurai but a lot of the time it's other things. We also train together sometimes especially because in the afternoons I sometimes end up training later than the others because I have to try and fit in some school work especially if there's been an attack. Most of the time you say you've just been planning on training late but I have to admit, sometimes I think you're waiting for me because you know I like training with you." Jayden can't help but smile. He's glad he gets on well with his team, even if he doesn't remember. "We fight in a similar way so who else to offer advice than someone's who's made the same mistakes before."

"That's true," he nods. After a moment, Nina speaks again,

"When we're in battles… you look out for me. More so than the others. You think I don't notice but I do. I think you do it because I'm the youngest," she says, just as her timer blares out suddenly. "Ooh, could you pass me that bowl of mashed blueberries please. I need to finish off this." He picks up the bowl in front of him with a purple-ish puree in it which he assumes to be the blueberries.

"Thanks," she says, taking it a scooping it into the bowl with a spoon before mixing it.

"Do you mind if I help?" Jayden asks, causing Nina to glance up, a small smile on her face.

"Sure. And just, for the record, I look out for you too."

* * *

It takes the red and purple ranger about half an hour more to finish the mixture. At this stage, it's ready to be stored until Mentor arrives with the final herb which will activate the whole thing. Unfortunately, he doesn't arrive before Praescor emerges from a gap again. The rangers begin getting ready to go into battle, Jayden included. He even woke up early that morning to train with the team. Admittedly, he wasn't as good as he usually was but he could put up a decent fight. However, going into battle with the Nighlok, Nina had made him promise not to go for the Nighlok just for safety reasons. Luckily, he was able to take down most of his moogers before Mike came along and helped him too. The other rangers were able to destroy the Nighlok but just as the explosion, signalling his destruction went off, there was the sound of a motorbike revving and following the sound the rangers so Mentor Ji approaching.

"Nina! Here! This should be enough for Jayden," he says quickly, handing a handful of dried green leaf to the purple ranger along with a small vial filled with a sickly green coloured sludge.

"Thank you!" Opening the vial she added the leaf before plugging it back up and shaking it.

"We don't really have anything to mix this into so you're going to have to drink it straight. I'm sorry," she says holding it out to him. Checking that no one's around the morphed red ranger takes off his helmet before taking the vial. He unplugs it before grimacing at the smell before throwing his head back and downing it without breath. Shaking his head, he puts the cap back to the vial before throwing it away. The rangers are all focused on him as he puts his helmet back on.

"So, how do you feel?" Mia asks.

"Like that recipe should never be replicated. Also…" he says, now turning to Nina. "I actually do just plan on training late." Nina just scoffs while the other rangers look around in confusion.

"He's fine. He remembers," she says shaking her head.

"And apparently just in time too!" Mike says, pointing up, where a mega Praescor is appearing.

"I think it's time this Nighlok gets a taste of his own medicine," Jayden says drawing out his samuraizer to activate his folding zord.

* * *

Almost as soon as the rangers got back from their battle, Nina went to her room. She'd hardly done any work over the past week and it was already Friday so she had a lot to catch up on. It was in the evening right before dinner when she decided she could may as well go and train for a bit, if for no more reason than to avoid having yesterday's leftovers. Stepping out of her room she began making her way to the outdoor dojo. Emily steps inside just as she reaches the door and stepping out she sees Jayden. At first his kind of seems to be in a bit of a daze but once her notices her, the corners of his lips begin to tug up.

"Okay, so it's possible, I like training with you too."

"Oh, I already knew that. But that doesn't mean I mind hearing it out loud," the purple ranger grins picking up a wooden sword. "Ready?"

"Of course," he nods but once they begin fighting it's clear his heart's not in it. "What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?" He asks as she jumps over his sword.

"I mean," she says, trapping his sword under hers so she can look up at him while she speaks. "You're heads not here and it's insulting if I only win while you're distracted so what's wrong?" The red ranger sighs before moving his sword away so they can both stand up straight. When he doesn't seem able to find the words Nina tries. A single word. A name.

"Emily?"

"What?" Jayden says, eyebrows raised.

"It is isn't it," she questions but all she sees is the colour rise in his cheeks. "I know you have a crush on her."

"Hey not so loud," he warns.

"I was basically whispering," she replies but lowers her voice nonetheless.

"How long have you known?"

"Well I've suspected probably longer than you've known but I wasn't really sure until Christmas." Amber had clearly rubbed off on Nina much more than she'd realised.

"I was going to tell you," he begins but Nina puts up her hand to silence him.

"Its okay. Really. Besides it was more fun figuring it out myself. Anyways, I'm no relationship guru but I do know you so talk to me."

"It doesn't really matter. It's just a little crush. Besides, I'm pretty sure she's kind of with Mike."

"Actually, don't be so sure about that. They did go out a few times and they're still good friends but figured they'd stay friends. Good friends and teammates. And of course it matters! Jayden Shiba can't concentrate? We have to get to the bottom of that," Nina says dramatically.

"Well, it's possible that while I didn't have my memories I told her she seemed important to me."

"What? We were together for a good two hours yesterday and you didn't tell me I was important!" Nina gasps, the red ranger shaking his head at her antics but smiling.

_**Yay Chapter nineteen! I went through almost all the rangers before deciding to settle with Jayden. The mighty red ranger with no memory?! Anyways, this was a fun chapter to write so I hope ya'll enjoyed it. See you on Friday and thanks for reading! **_


	20. House of Attitude

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 20: House of Attitude **

The rangers had had quite a busy week. A Nighlok called Switchbeast had switched the ranger's spirits with other objects. Jayden was a gnome, Kevin was a music box ballerina, Mia was a fan, Nina was actually her mother's necklace (she was the first one to be switched, in her civilian form) and Antonio was a fish he'd ironically just cooked in the kitchen. Emily and Mike had been tasked with saving the rangers and the city, which they managed to do, unfortunately not before a cat tried to eat the fish Antonio was in. Now the fish loving gold ranger was traumatised by the memory and terrified of fish. He refused to go fishing, let alone look at one. The rangers were now trying to help their fellow ranger get over his fear.

Things had also been especially busy in Shaylee's life. She'd told Nina just last night how she thought she was starting to like Mike… as in a romantic way. Ranger's assistant mentor didn't know what to do. Sure, she'd had a boyfriend before but none of them had known who she really was, who her family was. Mike did. Nina was shocked when she first told her; not because she didn't think Shaylee would have a crush on Mike because Mike was great. She was shocked because she hadn't noticed it before but now, she was seeing the signs she really should've noticed before for example when Shaylee was gushing about how well Mike had done with tracking the mutated Nighlok through the forest. Sure, she was proud, they all were but there was something more Nina couldn't put her finger on at the time.

However, for now the rangers had another issue to deal with a Nighlok at the plaza, Spicpine. She was a big dark overgrown insect with a bone coloured shell from which big black spike emerged. However, the rangers soon learnt that the spikes weren't just there for decoration; Spicpine could in fact eject the spikes from her being! A few civilians had been hit before the rangers arrived and although there were still a few in the plaza, luckily the rangers had morphed prior to their arrival.

"That's enough!" Jayden yelled, to take the Nighlok's attention away from the bystanders.

"Oh look! It's the power rangers," she mocked. "The heroes who can do no wrong. Let's see if we can change that!" She yells before turning her shell to the rangers and ejecting her spikes. The rangers jump out of the way, the spikes just passing through the air where they had previously been.

"Moogers!" She calls as the team began running towards her. The rangers each begin attacking the moogers, blocking their path with their spin swords. Mia manages to make her way through to Spicpine, others holding back the moogers trying to get to her. Nina's handling her group of moogers just fine when she sees a flash of green, taking down the moogers immediately surrounding her. She looks, to find Mike running to her.

"Nina, there's a kid over there! I'll handle the moogers, you get that kid to safety!" He says hurriedly as the moogers begin circling them again. Nina nods once before breaking the circle of moogers surrounding her, running towards the kid, the circle reforming, blocking her vision of Mike. She wasn't worried though. Mike had come incredibly far, and he was an amazing samurai, so she knew he'd be able to handle himself.

"Hey," she says, as she gets within the kids hearing range.

"Whoa, you're the purple power ranger," she gasps.

"Yeah, I am. It's not safe here though so we've got to go. Will you come with me?" She asks, putting out her hand, which she takes.

"Yeah. Are you going to take me to my parents?" She asks as Nina looks to make sure there aren't any approaching threats. Once she's deems the area clear, they begin moving quickly next to the wall.

"Yeah, of course," she replies. "We have to stay close to this wall for now though okay?" The young blonde girl nods. They walk across quickly, Nina talking to the girl (Amber! What a coincidence!) to help distract her from the fight happening less than ten metres away from them. However, glancing back Nina sees a wave of black spikes heading towards them. They're too close for her to dodge them without putting Amber in danger so she does the only thing she can think; she shields Amber's body, putting her between the wall and her. Nina's back is hit by a multitude of spikes, even her legs! She yelps out in pain, falling but not demorphing, and she's almost sure there's another voice yelling out too further behind her. After the pain subsides a few moments later, she begins to try and stand up and she feels a few hands on her arms, helping her. Turning she sees the red and green rangers at her aid.

"Hey kid!" Antonio says coming over, also still morphed. The pain in her back is dull and uncomfortable, like a deep ache.

"I'm so sorry! Is she going to be okay?" Amber asks, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Don't worry, our purple ranger's strong," Jayden assures her. "She'll be just fine."

"And don't apologise," Nina tells her, pushing off Jayden and Mike helping to hold her up, with maximum effort to show the girl she'll be okay. "It's not your fault. My friend will take good care of you to make sure you get back to your parents." Antonio confirms this before walking away with the girl. Once they go around the corner, Nina slumps back down, dropping her morph, the boys catching her before she falls to far.

"What is this?" She heaves, looking over to see Kevin and Emily walking over with Mia. Clearly, the pink ranger had been hit too.

"I think I know but if it's what I think it is, we've got to get you guys back to the house quickly," Jayden tells them, dropping his morph too. He looks apologetic, not sympathetic… Nina knew the difference, so she knew something was up.

"What?"

"We're going to have to pull the ones in your legs out now though." Nina shuts her eyes tightly, audibly exhaling.

"Just do it," she says as he pulls one out. It took all her willpower not to scream out then and there.

* * *

Luckily, there were only three that hit her legs. Jayden's suspicions had been confirmed once they got back to the house. There had been a similar Nighlok that previous rangers had faced. Not the samurai rangers,

"The jungle fury rangers have faced a similar Nighlok before," Jayden explained getting off the phone. He had called RJ, the owner of Jungle Karma Pizza, the mentor and purple ranger of the jungle fury rangers. "The spikes contain a poison which makes you act very… out character. Quite rebelliously."

"What do you mean by rebelliously? We'll be 'bad'?" Nina says putting air quotes around the word bad. Once they arrived at home, her and Mia had been taken to the hospital room so Shaylee could take out the quills. She'd had to work fast but Mia and Nina had assured her they couldn't feel any sticking out anymore. Now they were in the living room with Jayden, Emily and Kevin.

"Essentially, yes. If the quills weren't extracted, they would be absorbed into you and the intensity of the rebelliousness would gradually increase until you want to do the Nighlok's work and cause sorrow to raise the Sanzu river, so Shaylee went with Mentor, Mike and Antonio to the hospital to make sure everyone's clear. They'll have more equipment so they can check if anyone really still has a quill that's been absorbed."

"What will happen to us then? You got the quills out in time," Mia points out.

"Yes, but the poison still entered your system. You might feel a bit different too, wanting to do things you wouldn't usually do and they will probably increase in intensity as time goes on but it should wear off once it gets out of your system which should be five hours at most."  
"Five hours?" Mia repeats. A lot of damage could be done in five hours.

"It's okay. We'll look out for you guys," Emily assures them. "Besides, it takes a couple more hours than five before you'll want to start terrorising." Nina and Mia look at each other wearily before Nina smiles.

"Mia, you feel like breaking some plates?"

"Absolutely," Mia replies joking as the two of them get up.

* * *

It's a couple hours later, around two in the afternoon that Nina heads out into town. She'd started to do some schoolwork, but she was just so exhausted from earlier, the pain of removing the quills was draining even if she couldn't really feel it now. Surprisingly, only one of them had left a mark which was strange, but Nina wasn't going to complain about it even though it was still slightly sore. She wasn't really going anywhere; she was just walking until she thought she recognised someone...but it couldn't be… but it was!

"Nina, hey!" Mia called seeing her friend approaching. The thing that confused Nina was Mia usually black hair now had pink streaks in it.

"Mia, wow! The hair!" Nina replies, not sure how to reply. It wasn't that it didn't look nice, it did. It was just a bold move.

"Do you like it?" The pink ranger asked, flicking it in front of her shoulders so and spinning around so Nina could get a better look. She had to admit it really did suit her.

"Honestly, I really like it," Nina replies, Mia smiling before she gasps.

"You should get your hair done too!" Nina eyes widen at the suggestion, but her mouth curves up a bit.

"You think it would suit me? In purple, of course."

"Definitely!"

"Okay, let's go!" Nina smiles as Mia grabs her hand before dragging her into a nearby salon. Walking up to the desk, Mia asked for her purple highlights before pushing her friend into a chair.

* * *

"Nina!" Mia gasped about two hours later when Nina met her. Mia had left to do some shopping while Nina was getting her hair done. She'd even convinced Nina to give her some money to get some things for her. "It looks amazing!" Nina did a little twirl, showing off her new hair.

"Thanks! I know," she grins before reaching for Mia's bags. "Anyways, what did you get me?" Mia pulls them away.

"Patience," Mia tells her, but Nina just rolls her eyes as she walks over to a bench, putting the bags down. Nina follows as Mia pulls out a box, opening it to reveal heeled black ankle boots.

"I wanted to get it for myself but it wasn't in my size and I figured one of us should have it," Mia says handing it over to the purple ranger who drops her mouth open, taking them, sitting on the bench too.

"These are gorgeous!" She exclaimed, already taking off her converse to try them on. They fit perfectly! "I'm wearing these now."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Mia grinned before Nina pursed her lips.

"Mia, how much were these?" Nina asks but the Mia ranger just smiled mischievously. "I know I couldn't afford these before…" Mia glances down before pulling out a card. Stepping closer, Nina reads the name and it's not Mia's… it's Jayden Shiba!

"You used Jayden's card?" Nina asks.

"Only for your shoes," she replies innocently. Nina just shakes her head, not being able to help her smile, putting out her hand for the card. Mia pouts but slaps the card into her hand. Nina slides the card into her back pocket before taking off the shoes.

"Okay, so I'm going to go and return these," Nina says, putting her shoes back on before putting them back in the box and taking the bag, checking the receipt is there before pulling out her samuraizer. "Hey Kevin, Mia is going to come home now. I just wanted to let you know so you can call me as soon as she arrives," the purple rangers say looking pointedly at the pink ranger who's clearly not impressed. "Thanks," Nina smiles, hanging up as the pink ranger gets up.

"Fine, I was planning on going back now anyways." She walks off with that.

* * *

Once Nina returned her new shoes, she started just wandering around again not really sure what to do. She hadn't really had a plan when she left, she just left… without letting anyone know. When she'd called Kevin, he'd been telling her to get back too, asking where she was but she'd just ignored him, hanging up as soon as she finished saying her piece. She knew she couldn't say where she was since Mia could tell them where she was if she wanted too so she just started walking until she found herself in a different but familiar area, with familiar faces.

"Nina, hey," Camille says, noticing the girl walking by the pool of the Palm Woods. Nina had met her a few times and although she was a bit odd sometimes (she'd slapped Logan randomly one time) she seemed nice enough. "I like the hair."

"Aww thanks," Nina smiles, looking around which Camille notices.

"Are you looking for the guys? They've been at Rocque Records all day, so they'll probably be back soon," she says. Nina just side eyes her.

"Did I say I was looking for them?" Camille looks taken aback. Nina's not usually this rude.

"Well, no but -"

"I didn't think so," Nina says walking away, but Camille grabs her arm before she can get too far.

"Nina, you -" But she stops once Nina whips around and rips her arm from her gasp before grabbing Camille's wrist, taking a few steps closer to the brunette so she's in her face.

"Don't you _ever _touch me like that again," Nina hisses and Camille looks genuinely scared for a moment. She tries moving her wrist, but Nina's grip is like iron.

"Nina, let go of me! You're hurting me," she says, trying to pry Nina's hand off of her.

"That's the point," she deadpans. However, it's at that point that she sees Carlos walking around the corner and in that temporary moment of distraction someone bumps into Camille, causing her to lose her footing and fall on to Nina, the both of them tumbling into the pool. Once they float up, they see everyone around the pool up and looking at them, Big Time Rush included.

"Camille? Nina?" James says as Nina swims over to grab the edge, Kendall and Logan helping her out.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Logan asks, as James and Carlos help Camille. The water wasn't freezing but it wasn't exactly warm either.

"Camille and I were just talking when someone bumped into us and we fell in," Nina explains, glancing over at Camille who nods, clutching her wrist which Logan notices.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asks, taking her wrist from her. Nina answers before she can,

"That was me," Nina says, acting embarrassed. "When I felt I start falling I got scared and grab onto Camille. Apparently, I'm a lot stronger than I thought."

Camille pulls her wrist away from Logan, glancing at Nina.

"I should probably go change and get this checked out. See you guys later," the brunette says, stepping back, away from Nina.

"Aww, okay! Bye Camille," Nina waves smiling but the brunette just wearily smiles back before leaving.

Logan figures he would keep Camille company once she went to see Doctor Hollywood. Katie and Mrs Knight had gone shopping, so it was just the guys at the apartment. Since her clothes were wet, Kendall gave her one of his oversized sweatshirts to wear. She kept her denim shorts on (it was easier to keep her samuraizer on her this way) but removed her top and shoes, once Kendall left, leaving her in his room so she could dry off and change. As she untucked her still damp hair from the collar, she could hear the slightly raised voices of the boys outside before hearing the door shut. She raised her eyebrows before she opened the door of the room stepping out into the living room however James and Carlos were missing. It was just Kendall standing by the front door.

"Hey, thanks again for this," she smiles going over to sit on the couch. Kendall is a beat late in answering her, clearing his throat.

"Uh, yeah of course! It's not a problem," he says going over to the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?"

"No, I'm good thanks," she replies as he nods, pouring a glass of water for himself. She pulls a leg up onto the couch as he comes to sit too, leaning her elbow on the back, using her hand to support her head.

"So, I haven't seen you in a few weeks. How've you been?" She asks as he puts his glass down.

"Good mostly! Things here are usually pretty crazy so that was no surprise but I'm glad you're here actually. There's something I've been meaning to tell… did you dye your hair?" He asks and Nina grins.

"Yup! My friend convinced me to. I'm actually kind of annoyed with her at the moment though. She stole Jayden's card and used it to buy me shoes." Seeing Kendall's face drop she smiles. "Don't worry, I returned them, and I took the card so I can give it back to him and I sent her home. Besides, I can't really be mad at her. You see how there was that Nighlok attack this morning?"

"The what attack," Kendall asks, furrowing his brow in confusion. Oops!

"Oh, that monster thing. It shot these quills that make people go act kinda bad," she explains and the blonde guy nods in understanding.

"Oh yeah! They were talk about that on the news. The quills made the people affected by them -"

"Turn bad, yeah. Well, we were in the wrong place at the time and she was hit with a few and hello thief," Nina says waving her hands dramatically. "She should be fine by now though anyways since we managed to take the quills out and by, 'we', I mean a doctor," Nina says correcting herself. Kendall didn't need to know about that part of her life just yet. "I can't believe she stole from Jayden though. Personally, I think we should've just left the quills in there. She caused me less trouble when she was down and in pain."

"That's a bit… extreme don't you think?" Kendall says, shocked.

"Actually, now that I think about it, I could just teach her a lesson myself…" Nina says trailing off in thought.

"Nina," Kendall says placing a hand on her arm. "Are you feeling okay?" She glances down at his hand before shifting forwards and placing her hand on Kendall's neck. She smiles and she looks into his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she grins as his eyes flicker down to her lips before moving back up to her eyes. She begins leaning closer,

"You want to kiss me," she says and it's not a question. For a moment, Kendall seems to lean towards her too before he seems to see something, leaning back, snapped out of his daze. "What wrong?"

"Nina," he whispers before clearing his throat. "Nina, I think you were hit with one of those quills." The purple ranger just laughs,

"Actually, I was hit with multiple, but they were all removed hours ago. They're not affecting me anymore." Kendall gets up from the chair, giving Nina a hand up too.

"I think you should get checked, just in case," he says, and Nina stops in her tracks.

"No."

"Nina, you're acting- "he begins but she just glares at him which shuts him up.

"I said I'm fine Kendall. I'm acting how I want to act. Not because some stupid quill is making me," she says just as her samuraizer rings. It fell out onto the chair, so she goes back to pick it up.

"Jayden! What? No. Yeah sure, I'm bored with my present company now anyways," the ranger says, looking Kendall up and down who just raises his eyebrows. As she hangs up the phone, she goes back to Kendall's room to grab her top before coming back out.

"I need my shoes," she says shortly.

"I don't think they'd be dry yet," he tells her.

"I don't care," she snaps. "I'm leaving now." Kendall just complies, going to grab her shoes from a heater, holding them out to her. "Thanks." Once she puts on her shoes she begins walking to the door.

"Nina, wait," Kendall calls and she turns to face him. "Do you want me to walk you back?"

"Back? Back where? You don't even know where I live," she scoffs. "And even if you did, I wouldn't let you because you think I'm acting under the influence of a poisonous quill. I'm not. So, bye." She opens the door, gripping on the handle.

"Nina-" she whips back around to face him.

"Kendall, I'm gonna leave now but believe me when I say that if you don't leave me alone, I will do a whole lot worse to you than I did to Camille."

"What?" Logan says, standing in the doorway behind her. She turns, smiling innocently.

"You heard what I said," she replies before shoving past him. "Don't expect to see me soon!"

* * *

"Nina!" Jayden yelled as the team entered the house. They had just gotten back from the city hall because Nina had called them to tell them about an 'attack' when there wasn't one. Returning they found the purple ranger sitting in the living room on her laptop playing a game, her spin sword besides her (that would explain why Shaylee and Ji hadn't stopped her). "Why would you do that?"

"Mainly because I was bored, partially because I needed time to set up the surprises, I left in each of your rooms, even Shaylee's half! But she's already seen hers. She was honestly pretty ungrateful." The rangers begin rushing out of the room to check theirs and when Nina hears Mike yell her name, she can't help but smile. Storming back into the room he yells,

"Nina, what's the matter with you?" Hearing his getting to close the purple ranger stood up grabbing her sword and pointed it at him before he got to close.

"Nothing's wrong. At least not anymore. If I'm being perfectly honest, you were more collateral damage. I was going for Mia's bed - "

"What did I do?" Mia asks entering the room angrily with Emily. Nina turns her sword on them, so they stop in their tracks, raising their hands.

"You tried to steal from Jayden which just wasn't cool, so I had to show you that there were consequences, but I see that you're back to normal now which is great. Anyways, I kind of went overboard, and ended up messing up Emily's side too and then I figured it wouldn't be fair to her if the rest of you got to keep your rooms the way they were so I figured I'd trash all of yours too," Nina smiles. "Don't worry, I made sure not to break anything. I'm not that cruel. You just have to put everything back into order… and maybe find a few things too."

"Nina, you can't just go into our rooms and destroy everything!" Emily exclaims, Nina rolls her eyes at the dramatics.

"I just told you I didn't destroy anything. I simply messed things up a bit."

"A bit? My mattress is laying half out of the window!"

Nina giggles at the angry rangers, Kevin and Jayden entering with Ji and Shaylee.

"I don't know what to do with her! Mia's effects wore off hours ago, I don't know what's wrong with her," Shaylee says before noticing Nina's in the room, said girl turning to her with her spin sword and walking towards her threateningly.

"Nothing's wrong with me and I'm getting really sick of everyone saying that there is! How would you feel if everyone kept on saying the only reason you like Mike is because - oops," Nina says, bringing her hand up to her to cover her mouth as she lowers her sword but her cheeks are still raised behind it showing her true emotion as she speaks, "I wasn't supposed to say that was I? Oh well!" Glancing over at Mike, Nina continues before turning back to the mortified assistant mentor. "Don't be so quick to anger. Mike doesn't seem totally appalled at the idea. If you ask me -"

"I don't ask you!" Shaylee snaps stepping forward, but Nina just steps forward too. Jayden puts his hands on his cousins' shoulders, pulling her back.

"Shaylee, Shaylee! It's not really Nina," he mutters but the purple ranger still hears him. Her grin turns sinister,

"Oh Jayden. If it wasn't really me, how would I know that-"

"Nina, why are you doing this?" Jayden says interrupting her, having an idea of what she was going to say.

"I already told you, I was mostly bored, and I was really disappointed in Mia. Oh F.Y.I," Nina says, turning to the pink ranger. "We're good now. I think I did a pretty good job of making you pay so you're fine."

"Does that mean you'll stop this?" Mia asks but the purple ranger shakes her head.

"Why not? You just said you're good now," Kevin tells her.

"Yeah. Mia and I are good. I never really had a problem with the rest of you, but this has actually been kind of fun. I think I might do it again sometime."

"You already trashed our rooms Nina! What more could you possibly do!" Mike yells causing the purple ranger to point her sword at him again, glaring.

"Well for starters, you could be more grateful. I don't plan on doing it to you guys again. That would be unnecessary. However, I don't appreciate you yelling at me. So, I'd suggest you stop," she says, slowly making sure everyone understands her.

"Nina, I swear if you've done something to my fishing award plaque…" Antonio says storming into the living room trailing off as his chest meets the tip of her spin sword. He'd been looking around the house for his plaque but hadn't seen any sign of it.

"I think you all seem to be forgetting one valuable piece of information. I have my spin sword. Sure, you could try and threaten me with yours too. Six against one actually Shaylee and Ji are probably angry enough to grab something too, so it'd be eight on one. Pretty good chances if I say so myself, especially considering some of you actually look angry enough to almost do it but there's our keyword; almost. We all know that if it came down to it, right now, I'm the only one who poses a genuine threat to anyone. So," the purple ranger says, turning around to pick up her laptop. "I'm gonna go to my room and you're all going to leave me alone." She simply walks past the angry rangers before stopping in her tracks.

"Jayden, this is yours. I returned the shoes Mia bought so all the money should still be there." She says, handing him his card which he accepts. "Oh, and Shaylee sorry about the whole Mike thing but since it looks like I'm playing matchmaker, Kevin and Mia," she says turning to them, "you guys like each other! See now it's even."

* * *

Once Nina got back to her room, she begins the round of her game again when she got an email… it could only be one person. Smiling, Nina opened her email. However, once she read the message, she sneers shutting her laptop.

_Hey Nina, _

_Sorry we haven't spoken in a while. It has been real busy here - I'll catch you up soon hopefully. Anyways, I just wanted to see how you were. I have this dark, evil feeling for some reason and I'm pretty sure it's something to do with you (in the nicest way possible ;)). Anyways, just let me know. I really feel like something's off. _

_Eddie _

She couldn't even get away from it if she were halfway across the world. Sighing, Nina decides to get something to eat but almost as soon as she opens the door, she sees Shaylee standing outside with Kevin, clearly about to knock.

"What?"

"We made this for you," Kevin says, holding out a glass containing a pink looking smoothie.

"When you say we…"

"Don't worry. Mia didn't participate at all," Kevin assures her.

"We wanted to say sorry for ganging up on you," Shaylee says, and Nina takes a sip.

"This is pretty good," Nina shrugs drinking more. Kevin looks at her expectantly. "That's the only compliment you're gonna get for now." She shoos the two away before turning to walk in the other direction. As she does, she happens to walk past Jayden's, his hair slightly damp. He must've been training and had a shower. She doesn't plan on saying anything but apparently, he does,

"Nina, did Shaylee give you that?" He asks, pointing at the smoothie in her hand.

"Why?"

"Just wondering. I wanted to try some."

"Yeah, she did," she replies slowly, raising the glass up to her eye level. "But this is mine. If you want some, get your own," she says, turning away but Jayden reaches out, lightly grabbing her shoulder but she flinches away violently, clearly in pain.

"What!" She gasps, tentatively rubbing her shoulder. Jayden eyes widen at her reaction.

"What happened to your shoulder?" He asks, but she just shrugs.

"I don't know. It's been hurting since Shaylee took those stupid quills out. Now, I have to get some ice because of you." She's only taken a few steps when Jayden calls after her.

"Wait, I think I might be able to help you. With the pain I mean," Jayden says, making her stop and turn back to him, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh really? And what are you going to do that an ice pack won't?"

"I've been working on a new symbol which can help heal us faster. It sort of worked when I sprained my arm last time, but I've been perfecting it since." Nina had to admit that his arm had healed abnormally fast. She just huffs.

"Fine." The duo head to the hospital room just as the gap sensor begin ringing.

"Yeah, no, I'm not going," Nina says as they pass the other rangers. "And you," she says pointing backwards at Jayden. "Promised to help me so you're not going either."

"But-" Emily begins but Nina's pleasantly shocked to hear Jayden stop her.

"It's fine. You guys go on ahead. I'll meet you there soon," he says as the rangers run out the front door.

* * *

Nina had spent the past couple of hours since she got back sorting out the other rangers' rooms. Voluntarily, though. Jayden had lied slightly when he said he'd been working on a new symbol to heal them quickly. He had been working on a symbol, but it wasn't to heal nor was it the one he used. The smoothie Shaylee and Kevin had concocted and given Nina was supposed to neutralise the poison in her body but when Jayden saw that it hadn't worked and she was still in pain, he put the pieces together; there must still be a quill inside her where the bruise was. So, he cast a gentle warming symbol on the bruise on her back before pulling the quill out. The herb in the smoothie quickly took effect in neutralising the poison in her bloodstream. At first, the purple ranger was just confused because it was like something just switched in her brain, but they didn't have time to dwell on it or explain anything since there was a Nighlok to fight. However, by the time they arrive there's a different fight going on than the one they expected. Apparently, Spicpine and a couple of Spitfangs had been destroyed by this new Nighlok they were facing; Serrator and it unfortunately the fight didn't go as they wished it to. Luckily (the term being used loosely), this new Nighlok they were fighting seemed more concerned with taking the rangers down than with harming civilians so when the rangers were knocked down and the Nighlok left, they made their way back to the house, Nina apologising profusely for anything she'd done, since in her mind everything was still a blur. She'd promised to clear up all their rooms, sending them all away into the living room while she worked, adamantly refusing help.

* * *

The next morning, Nina was awake early as usual but instead of staying in her room to do her morning work, she decided to start training first instead but she replied to Eddie's email first, explaining what had happened. She felt disgusted with herself for what she'd done the day before. She was beginning to remember and make sense of more and it just wasn't better. It only made her want to train harder. To make her think about something else. So, picking up a wooden sword, she headed over to one of the training dummies and begin attacking it.

"Nina!" A voice yelled, a while later, a hand landing on her shoulder. She spun around, scared with the wooden sword in hand and when she found she was holding it inches away from Jayden's side she immediately dropped her sword.

"I'm sorry!" She gasped. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine. Don't worry," he replied, picking up her sword and holding it out to her. As she tentatively takes it, he speaks. "I called you like five times, but you were fighting that dummy like it was Master Xandred himself. What's wrong?" The purple ranger sighs, looking down and shrugging.

"I wasn't expecting purple highlights when I looked in the mirror," she tried to joke but Jayden sees right through her.

"Nina, what happened yesterday wasn't your fault. You weren't in control."

"I know," she sighs, running a hand through her hair (her hair band fell out a while ago), putting the sword down beside her. "I remember making the decisions to do what I did, and they made sense in my head. Like calling you guys out to a fake Nighlok attack? What if there had been a real attack somewhere? People could've gotten seriously hurt and I know I wouldn't have tried to help. I didn't even want to go when there was a real one and I tried to stop you from going!" Jayden looks as though he wants to say something to interrupt the girl but it's clear she hadn't finished yet but what she was saying was visibly upsetting her. "And you want to know what makes it worse? Not only did I point my spin sword at you guys, but I threatened you with it… and it wasn't an empty threat either. Part of me wanted to hurt you. All of you… just because I wanted something to do. And if I was given the opportunity... I would've," she whispers, wiping away a couple of stray tears. Jayden steps forwards, wrapping her in a hug, one hand on her back of her head, soothingly stroking her head as she wraps her arms around him too.

"I know I wasn't in complete control," she continues quietly, "but the things I did yesterday… I did them."

"Nina, listen to me, okay?" He says after a moment of comfortable silence. "The things you did yesterday weren't because you wanted too. They were because the Nighlok wanted you to do evil things. Cause sorrow. But there were things that you could've done that you didn't. You didn't spend the money on my card when you could've. You may have messed up our rooms, but you didn't break or ruin anything beyond repair. And you didn't actually hurt any of us when you know we wouldn't have tried to hurt you back. I know they may seem like stupid little things, but I think a small part of you was trying to fight back. Trying to stop you from going full out." When Nina doesn't reply, he continues. "Besides, we're not mad at you. Especially, since you sorted out all our rooms."

Nina sighs as she pulls away, "I know you're not. But… I shoved them. Oh my gosh and I tried to crush her wrist!"

"What? Who are you talking about?" Jayden asked, a lot more worried.

"I have to go," Nina tells him, ignoring his question as she picks up the sword, handing it to him.

"Do you want me to come with you?" He asks and for a moment she hesitates, as though she might say yes. She wants to say yes but…

"No," she replies. "I should do this myself. I'll be back soon," she says, waving as she goes to her room to shower and change before heading to the Palm Woods.

* * *

Nina had had the whole journey to plan and think about what she was going to say when she saw Camille but as she approached the pool and saw her heading into the lobby she suddenly couldn't remember anything but before she could back out, Camille turned around and saw her, stopping in her tracks. Nina hesitated for a moment before she found her legs already making their way over to the brunette.

"Camille, hi," she said, cringing at the bandage wrapped around her wrist. She'd never wished she were weaker or at least of average strength until that moment.

"Hey Nina. I've actually got to be somewhere right now -" Camille began taking a few steps back, but Nina reached out, gently holding her shoulder as she moved around to stand in front of her.

"No Camille, wait please," Nina pleaded but seeing Camille's eye flick nervously to her hand on her shoulder, she let go quickly. "Sorry. Yeah actually sorry! I'm so sorry about what I did to you yesterday. I'd been hit with one of those quills and it was making me act crazy but that's no excuse for -"

"Nina, it's okay. I forgive you."

"You do?" Nina breathed, not quite believing her yet.

"Yeah. My wrist is mostly just bruised so I'll be fine. I kind of assumed it was one of those quills anyways but I'm glad you're back to normal now."

"I was so scared you'd hate me," Nina admits but Camille just smiles before giving her a hug which Nina gratefully returns.

"No way! However, I would like to know why you're so freakishly strong," she laughs as they pull away.

"So, would I," Logan's voice says behind her. Turning around, she sees all the boys from Big Time Rush. "My shoulder is still sore."

"I'm so-" But Logan just raises a hand, laughing slightly.

"Don't even worry about it. We saw the news, we figured out what had happened." Nina couldn't believe how chill everyone was being about this. She'd actually hurt them and… oh no… she'd tried to kiss Kendall! She glanced up at him before looking between them all.

"I can't believe you guys don't want me escorted off the premises," Nina sighed, only half joking. "I did and said such horrible things and I feel awful." It's Kendall who replies his green eyes locking with Nina's.

"Don't. We know what you're like Nina and that wasn't you." Nina doesn't even know how to respond. All she can do is stare into his eyes, and hold her breath and -

"He's right," Camille adds, forcing Nina to divert her attention. "But I was being serious earlier. I actually do have somewhere to be."

"It's cool. I should probably be going soon as well anyways."

"So, what are you gonna do now," Carlos asks Nina once Camille leaves.

"I actually have to get back home soon but is it cool if I steal Kendall for a few minutes?"

"I mean it would be cooler if you stole me for -" James begins but Logan interrupts him.

"What he means to say is sure." Kendall just shakes his head at his friends before walking outside with Nina who waves goodbye to the others.

"So…" Nina begins, not really sure where she was going.

"So…" Kendall repeats. "Your hair. It's different."

"Yeah," she laughs, sighing slightly as she lifts a bit with her fingers, looking at it. "Purple, well, I guess they're more lilac now, highlights. Also, on the list of things I wouldn't have done if I were sane yesterday."

"Well, it's nice though."

"Well, while it's not permanent apparently this is going to be my look for roughly the next six weeks so I'm glad I don't look terrible."

"No, you still look amazing," he replies. _Still. _Nina can't help the smile that grows on her face, although she tries to keep it down.

"Thank you…and I'm sorry for trying to kiss you yesterday," Nina says.

"It's alright. You don't have to apologise," Kendall tells her before realising what he said. "Not that I wanted to kiss you!" he says before his eyes widen. "Not that I didn't want to kiss you either! I just, I didn't think it would be right to kiss you if you weren't really… you…" Kendall says, blushing by the end of his sentence. Did he just admit he wanted to kiss her? Or was he being nice? Or was she just reading into it too much. Nina wasn't sure but she felt the heat rising in her cheeks too.

"Yeah, I get it. I'm just glad you realised I wasn't me," Nina replies before she realised how what she said sounded. "Not that I wouldn't want to -" Nina cuts herself off before she said something she really shouldn't admit. She claps her hands together once, "I should go."

"Yeah, yeah, of course!" Kendall nods.

"Actually," she says, back around turning around. "I forgot to bring your sweatshirt. I'll drop it off next time."

"No, it's alright. I know you live far. You can keep it," he replies, to which Nina smiles.

"Thank you," she says.

"Although, that reminds me," he says, grabbing her hand to turn her back before she walks away. "I've been wanting to tell you that the me and the guys are actually going on tour soon."

"Oh, for how long?"

"It's not too long. Just over a month, I think. We're staying in the States this time round, oh actually we have one show in Canada too," he explains.

"When do you leave?"

"In about month. 23rd March. We leave from here in the evening."

"Well," she begins, letting go of his hand as she backs away. "Don't leave before I get to say goodbye."

_**There's chapter twenty! Well, look at that. Even when she tries, she just can't stay away from the Palm Woods. It must be the pool… yeah. If you didn't realise, this chapter was partially inspired by an episode of Power Rangers Jungle Fury (which I also don't own). Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you on Tuesday. Thanks for reading! **_


	21. House of Before

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 21: House of Before **

The past few weeks have been busy at the Shiba house. So much has happened! First, they came into possession of the Bullzord (after one of the guardian family members brought it over) but that was such destructive day! There was so much clearing up to do afterwards! Then about a week after that the rangers discovered that it wasn't just Emily who had a sibling. It turned out that Mia actually had a younger brother, Terry! He was wanted Mia to sing with him and his band (which ended featuring Antonio for a night). It was amazing hearing Mia sing though; the rangers didn't realise how talented she was. If she could cook as well as she sang… As much fun as it had been that night though, Nina had to admit that a small part of what had made that night so good was that a certain boy band had ended up performing there after Terry's band as a mystery band. Nina was just as shocked to see them on stage as they were to see her in the crowd. After the show though, they came down and after finding Camille in the crowd, Nina had introduced them to her teammates. She had no idea Mike was such a fan but it sure was funny finding out. Unfortunately, though, Nina was beginning to get very drained. Who knew fighting Nighlok who won't let up, a couple of fast approaching coursework deadlines, helping out lost blue ranger and training would do that to a person?

"No!" Nina exclaimed as the gap sensor went off.

"Nina," Mia says from the door. "Your essay is amazing! Stop worrying and just hand it in. But not now because we have to go come on!"

The Nighlok they were fighting was called Bowser. It pink with yellow and green splotches all over its pudgy body. Of course, once the rangers showed their faces it called forth some moogers, but Nina was able to make a direct path to the Nighlok as her teammates took them on.

"I am sick and tired of you and your friends ruining my day," Nina growls.

"I could say the same thing," Bowser replies as Nina hits him with her lightning mace, sending him flying back. "Ugh, you know what? I'd be careful if I were you. I only have one dose of this, so I was gonna use it on the red ranger, but I think you'll work just as well." The Nighlok reaches into its pouch, before pulling out its closed fist, only opening it to blow a purple glittery dust on the purple ranger.

"What?" Nina says, confused as her view is temporarily obstructed.

"Anyways, that's it from me today. I need a soak. I suggest you take one too and just relax," Bowser grins. "See you later, kid!"

"I don't think so!" Antonio says, running over and hitting the Nighlok with his spin sword.

"What?" Bowser exclaims, startled. Soon enough, all the rangers are able to come over and help take down the Nighlok.

"Nina!" Kevin calls, once the mega Bowser is defeated. "Are you alright? What was that sparkly stuff the Nighlok blow on you?"

"I'm… fine. I'm really fine actually. I have no idea. But nothing happened."

"Are you sure?" Mia asks, as Nina drops her morph.

"Yeah," the purple ranger nods. "I'm okay."

* * *

Back at the Shiba house, the rangers were still slightly confused. They'd collectively been keeping an eye on Nina. Neither Shaylee nor Ji had heard of a Nighlok like this as of late so they would have to delve into older journals to see if they could find anything but it just didn't seem like there was anything to find. Nina seemed okay and since the Nighlok was destroyed they were hoping that whatever was supposed to happen, wouldn't. They just didn't understand what the Nighlok was expecting to happen. Although, one thing Emily did notice was,

"Nina, did you cut your hair?"

"No… not recently. Why?" The purple ranger asks, lifting her some strands of her hair. It looked the same to her.

"I don't know. I thought it looked shorter a minute," Emily tells her. Over the past month, Nina had been able to wash her hair frequently enough to practically get all the purple highlights out. Maybe she got it cut then… but how did she not notice until now?

"Oh-"

"Knock, knock," Mia says, poking her head in the room. "I just finished up. Dinner's ready."

"Yay! I'm starving," Nina grins getting up, pulling a reluctant Emily off the couch too. Entering the kitchen they see the boys are already there, it's just Shaylee and Ji missing. Mia has already dished out the plates so Emily and Nina just sit down in front of one.

"You guys feel free to dig in," Mia smiles as Nina picks up her fork. "I'm going to get the others." As Mia leaves the room, Nina puts the food filled fork in her mouth before contorting her face grabbing a napkin and spitting it out.

"What is that?" she exclaims, disgusted.

"That's her lasagne," Kevin says. "Why did you eat it?"

"Because I thought it was edible!"

"But Mia made it," Mike says as she walks back in, so he continues. "Which is how you know it was made with love."

"Thanks Mike," she grins as Nina rinses her mouth with water.

* * *

"Amber! Amber!" Emily hears Nina call from her room.

"Nina?" Emily asks, entering the room.

"Yes! Amber! Could you bring in a towel please? I think I left it on my bed." Emily just looks around before spotting the towel.

"um, sure," she replies, entering the bathroom and putting it on the heater before walking back out. "Nina, you're towel's here."

"Thanks!" Emily hears the water turn off. "And were you just doing an American accent because that was actually pretty good."

"What?"

"Never mind. Anyways, could you text the rest of Sibuna to tell them we should meet here tomorrow morning before breakfast. I think I know how to get rid of Eddie's backups."

"Uh, sure. I'm gonna go now." Rushing to the living room, Emily finds that most of the team are already there. Quickly, telling them to "wait there", she goes and finds Jayden and Shaylee to join the others.

"You guys, something's wrong with Nina," she tells them.

"Wait you figured it out? What is it?" Shaylee asks.

"I'm not 100% sure but I was walking past her room when she was showering and she started calling out to Amber and she thought I was her but putting on a American accent and she asked me to text something or a group called Sibuna and something about Eddie."

"Amber and Eddie? As in her old roommate Amber and best friend Eddie?" Jayden questions to which Emily shrugs.

"I think so."

"Actually, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure she forgot my name earlier as well," Mike says but before anyone can say anything else, Nina is standing at the threshold.

"Who are you guys? And why am I here? Do you work for Rufus?"

"Nina, calm down," Jayden says stepping forward, grabbing her attention, her eyes widening. "We don't work for anyone."

"Who are you?" She says quietly, stepping back slightly.

"My name is Jayden Shiba and-"

"Shiba? As in the red ranger?" she questions. Okay so she remembers that. That's good.

"Yes exactly. These are the other rangers, Kevin, Emily, Mia, Mike and Antonio," Jayden says pointing at each of them in turn. "That's Mentor Ji and you probably recognise my cousin Shaylee since you were friends when you were kids."

"Of course," Nina smiles cautiously as Shaylee comes over to her and hugs her which she reciprocates. When she pulls away, she look around curiously. "Okay, I guess this makes some sort of sense but I don't understand how I got here."

"Speaking of that, Nina what can you tell us about yourself," Mentor asks.

"Um, well, my name is Nina Martin," she begins. "I was raised in Ohio by my gran, I'm sixteen and I'm training to become the purple power ranger but considering I found this," she says, pulling out her samuraizer, "on my dresser I'm assuming I already am."

"Nina," Jayden says.

"Yeah?"

"You're seventeen." For a moment, she doesn't say anything, her mouth just drops.

"What's happening to me?"

"Nina, I fear that your memory is regressing," Mentor tells her.

"Awesome," she says flatly.

"This is probably seriously freaking you out so why don't you go to bed and we'll whip up a cure for you?" Shaylee suggests.

"Yeah, sure. I think I'm gonna do that. Uh, goodnight," Nina says as she walks back to her room with Shaylee.

* * *

"Gran! Gran! Where are you?" Nina yells walks walking around the house. She's not quite sure what time it is but the sun's up and this isn't the room that she fell asleep in last night. "Gran! Gr- whoa!" She yells as she's almost knocked over by colliding into someone, but she finds her balance, quickly getting into a defensive position.

"What did you do with my gran?"

"What? Who's your gran? Who are – wait a minute!" Mike exclaims. "Nina!"

"How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"Err, hold on. Shaylee! Shaylee! Shaylee, where are you?" Mike yells, causing Nina to cover her ears.

"Argh, stop yelling," Nina groans.

"Sorry," Mike apologises.

"Mike, what do you want? Why are you – whoa. Kid!"

"No, not just kid. Nina!" Mike says.

"Nina?" Shaylee gasps, bending down slightly to look at her face. "Oh my gosh it is Nina!"

"Yes, it is," Nina nods. "And I'm not a kid. I'm twelve."

"You're twelve?" A new voice behind Nina says. Turning around she sees Jayden.

"Yeah. Who are you?" She says suspiciously.

"We'll talk about that later but for now, Nina I need you to come with me," Shaylee says.

"Where?"

"To the hospital room. Oh, and Nina, I promise, your gran is okay," she says.

* * *

"Okay, so it turns out we were slightly wrong," Shaylee shares with the team, once she leaves Nina in the hospital room. "Nina's memory isn't just fading. She's aging backwards. Which explains why the cure we gave Jayden last time didn't work immediately."

"Is she okay?" Jayden asks.

"Well, she's slightly confused as to how she's here instead of Ohio naturally but apart from that her vitals are fine but her cells are literally getting newer instead of aging."

"That doesn't sound very good," Nina says, standing by the door.

"Nina! I told you to wait in the infirmary," Shaylee tells her.

"I know and I'm sorry but I don't need to be there. I feel fine. I mean aside from the whole aging backwards thing but still. I want to spar."

"What?" Mia asks.

"I want to spar. If you guys really are the power rangers, it will be a fun challenge! I never get to spar with people," she exclaims.

"Um, okay then, I guess you can-" Jayden begins but Nina interrupts.

"Wait, you're the red ranger, right? Jayden?" He looks down at her nodding and she smiles. "Shaylee told me about all of you. I want to spar against you." Jayden raises his eyebrows, looking between her and the others who just smile, intrigued.

"Me?"

"Yeah," she grins. "I want to see if I can beat you."

* * *

After tying and rolling up Nina's training uniform in the correct places so it stays up, Nina went with Emily and Mia to meet Jayden outside. He's already waiting on the mats when they get there, two wooden swords in his hands. He begins walking towards the mini purple ranger as she walks towards him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mia asks, as Jayden hands the mini ranger a sword.

"Of course! I've been training really hard! I want to see if it's paying off," she replies to which Jayden smiles.

"I guess we'll see," Nina replies, smiling as she gets into position.

"Are you going easy on me?" Nina pants after she manages to hit Jayden once again.

"Of course not," Jayden smirks barely even breathing heavier than normal.

"Good," she smiles innocently before raising her sword again.

* * *

They spent over an hour and a half sparring before Kevin realised how long they'd been out there and went to check on the two who came inside to shower soon after. Jayden, who finished before the purple ranger (who'd promised to join them in the living room once she'd finish) was sitting in the living room, telling team about their sparring battle.

"Guys, it's crazy but she was crazy talented back then. I mean of course, her technique could use a little work, but she'd clearly been training hard. She actually got in some good hits."

"You mean, a twelve-year-old managed to get a hit on _the _red ranger?" Emily teases, to which Jayden rolls his eyes.

"I was going easy on her."

"Maybe but I'm pretty sure I caught you actually trying a few times," she tells him to which he just laughs, shaking his head.

"Jayden," Shaylee calls, appearing in the doorway. "I need your help."

"Are you okay?" Mike asks, turning around concerned.

"Yeah, I'm alright," she smiles before walking out as Jayden reaches her. Walking down the hallway, Jayden turns to his cousin.

"You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she nods. "I just wanted to tell you before the rest of team because I don't know what to do now."

"Tell me what?" He asks, now apprehensive.

"Well, it's more of a showing thing. I went into my room a few minutes ago to check on Nina," she says as she pushes the door open to her room. "And I found her like this." Shutting the door behind him, Jayden walks towards Nina's bed, eyes widening as he rushes forwards seeing her new state. Lying asleep on top of the duvet, wearing a hoodie that's already oversized on regular Nina, is an even smaller Nina, her feet just sticking out. Crouching down, Jayden guesses she's about six.

"What-? She was twelve for over two hours! How did this happen?" Jayden whispers.

"I have no idea! But Jayden, I'm pretty sure she's younger than when I first found her," His cousin whispers back him, as her phone rings. "Watch her. It's Ji, I'll be back in a second." Jayden nods, running a hand through his hair as Shaylee steps outside. Going over to sit on the edge of the bed, Jayden places a hand on the sleeping girl's shoulder, shaking her to wake her up.

"Nina," he says gently. Who knows what she knows at this age? Besides, it's not like she's gonna recognise anyone. He doesn't want to scare her too much. "Nina, you have to wake up."

"No daddy," she whispers, not opening her eyes. Jayden glances up as the door opens again, Shaylee re-entering the room. The afraid look in the assistant mentor's eyes is made worse when she sees the same look on the red rangers face. "We have to wake her up."

"I know," Shaylee replies. "I'll wake her up, you go and get one of the others. Mike."

"Mike?" Jayden asks raising an eyebrow. "Just a random name off the top of your head, huh?"

"Yes, actually and do you really want to play that game? Because I know-"

"Now's really not the time, Shay," Jayden tells her, leaving the room, smiling slightly.

* * *

After grabbing Mike, Jayden went back to the other rangers to explain the situation and what they'd discovered.

"She thinks her parents are alive? How are we gonna deal with that? How old does that make her?"

"We're not sure but at most she's five then," Jayden replies to Mia's question.

"What are we gonna tell her if she asks?" Jayden purses his lips, clearly not having an answer.

"We could just tell her that her mum had important ranger business to do and her dad had to visit her gran so they left her with us, so she'd be safe," Antonio suggests.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Jayden agrees.

"Okay cool, but how about our slightly, bigger problem? How do we stop her from de-aging?" Emily asks.

"She's right. We know that when she's relaxed, especially asleep, she de-ages faster but first, considering how young she is she's gonna get tired eventually. Also, we don't know how to get her back to her age," Kevin says before Mia places her hand over his.

"Kevin, calm down. We'll figure this out."

"Yeah, um, Shaylee spoke with Ji earlier and he thinks he's found something that can help her. It'll pause her de-aging process, but actually bringing her back… we're not sure yet."

"Uh, guys," Mike says, entering the room. "What do five year olds like to do? Mini Nina's a little freaked out and we don't know what to do to entertain her."

"Drawing. Or painting. Nina told me she used to love it when she was younger," Jayden replies as Mike.

"Oh yeah! Yeah! Wait, do we have any of that stuff?"

"Check Nina's pencil case on her desk. I'll get some paper from the printer," Mia tells him, getting up.

* * *

So Nina didn't have many options of colouring pencils and if - _when _they got Nina back they knew she wouldn't be happy if they had used her highlighters for colouring in, which was how Jayden found himself in the shopping mall, looking for a stationary store. He wasn't sure what the girl would want so he got a pack of colouring pencils, pens and even paint. Nina was supposed to go with him but considering she didn't have any proper clothes, let alone shoes, they had to change plans. The young ranger appreciated it though, even inviting him to draw something too before they had to come in to eat. Thankfully Antonio had cooked, claiming to have knowledge on cooking for kids (although he just put fish fingers and chips in the oven).

"So Nina, how's your day been?" Emily asked as they ate.

"It's been good. I was a bit scared at first because you're all new but you're really nice so I'm not scared now."

"That's really good to hear." Nina smiles, shoving another fish finger into her mouth, making to another rangers laugh.

"Oh after, dinner can I show you my drawings?"

"Yeah, of course! We'd love to see them," Mike grins.

"And then after that can we watch a movie?"

"You know what? I think I have a few DVDs from when I was younger stored somewhere. I'll see if I can find them in a moment."

* * *

The rangers soon found out that mini Nina was no Picasso. Her art was… colourful. She'd painted some purple trees and she'd drawn the team as humans but in their respective ranger colours (which gave the rangers a little bit of hope that Nina may still have her seventeen-year-old knowledge). She was so happy when showing the team though that they couldn't help but smile. However, once they put on the film and turned down the lights, the team didn't pay close attention to the shrinking purple ranger until they heard the door open.

"Rangers, where's Nina?" Ji asked, entering the room, turning on a light as he did.

"She's here," Kevin replies, turning to the little girl sitting next to him before gasping. "Oh no!" It wasn't little girl Nina sitting next to him anymore. It was baby Nina!

"Nina!" Jayden gasped, as Shaylee went over to their Mentor. Jayden picked up the sleeping infant, before joining the two although Shaylee rushes off before he can reach the two.

"I found the root to stop the process but she's younger than I thought. Shaylee's gone to extract the juice."

"Bring her here," she calls from the infirmary. Jayden runs over, with Nina in his arms, the girl waking up as he reaches the room. Shaylee quickly brings over syringe filled with a luminous yellow-green solution as Jayden lowers the girl onto the bed. The assistant mentor squirts the solution into the baby's mouth. The baby Nina, opens and shuts her mouth a couple of times her face screwing up each time before she bursts into tears. Shaylee picks up the girl and Jayden takes away the syringe.

"I know. I know it's disgusting but we had to give it to you, I'm sorry," Shaylee coos, rocking and bouncing the girl.

* * *

"Guys, how is she still crying? Isn't she tired by now?" Kevin groans. Nina had started crying again about twenty minutes after they'd calmed her down from drinking the solution but that was over half an hour ago. Jayden had managed to use some symbol power to transform her clothes to fit her baby self. He'd also managed to find a few baby things from his childhood in storage. However, he had left to go buy a pack of nappies, he should be back anytime now.

"Let me try," Emily says, as Kevin eagerly hands her the baby ranger. This was the sixth rotation of the girl. Shaylee, Mia, Mentor Ji, Mike, Antonio and Kevin had all tried to stop the girl from crying. They just didn't know what was wrong with her. They didn't know what she wanted. She refused to eat, she wouldn't sleep, she didn't have a nappy to be changed but even then, she hadn't wet herself since aside from tears.

"Hey, I bought the diapers," Jayden says, entering the living room. "She's still crying?"

"Great, I'll take these," Emily says, holding the crying girl on her hip, taking the pack from the red ranger before walking out.

"She hasn't stopped. We don't know what's wrong," Shaylee sighs.

"Uh, maybe I still have some toys from when I was younger stored away," Jayden suggests.

"Oh yeah, I'll help you look."

* * *

"Hey, I think I have a couple of things that might stop the little wolf from howling," Jayden says entering Nina's room where Emily is sitting on the floor with the squirming girl.

"Please! I'll try anything to stop it," Emily sighs as Jayden joins her on the rug, before presenting the stuffed lion said ranger got him for Christmas.

"Hey Nina," Jayden coos, waving the toy. "Nina." The infant doesn't stop crying, until she feels the toy in her hand. At first, she just keeps spluttering, clutching the toy in her tiny hands. She stops momentarily, looking at the toy as Jayden lets go but then she throws it across the room and starts crying again.

"No, no Nina, don't cry again," Emily pleads but Jayden goes and picks up the misplaced toy, before presenting a new one; a stuffed bunny.

"Okay, maybe we'll have better luck with this one," Jayden says. "Okay Nina, what about this one," He wiggles the toy as it gets closer to her. "It has big, fluffy ears, and really soft paws," he rubs one of its paws on her hands to get her attention. "And it's got a big, orange carrot of its own." Nina suddenly stops crying, reaching out for the toy. Jayden hands it to her but as she brings it closer, she puts the carrot in her mouth, biting it with her little baby teeth.

"Is she hungry?" Emily asks. "She refused to eat earlier."

"What did you give her?" Jayden asks as Emily puts Nina on the ground in front of her. Her hair was a much lighter at this age.

"Uh, I'm not sure. We had limited options, so I think Mentor tried giving her some boiled broccoli."

Jayden laughs, "I'm not sure if Nina even likes broccoli as a seventeen-year-old." His laughter is cut short but a certain stuffed bunny, hitting him on the forehead. However, he can't help but smile as a cheeky laugh sounds throughout the room, coming from none other than the baby purple ranger.

"She's laughing," Emily grins as Jayden reaches forwards and tickles the little girl's stomach making her laugh even more. Her laughter is just so full of life, happy and carefree. Emily can't help but notice the look it brings to Jayden's face.

"Because she thinks it's funny to hit her team leader." Handing her back the toy, Jayden gets up as she start biting the stuffed carrot as well.

"She's able to sit up and support herself pretty well and she already has her teeth so I'm gonna assume she's over one. I'll boil her some pasta-" baby Nina (and Emily) laugh again as she throws the bunny at him again before grabbing the lion too. "And I guess I'll boil some carrots too." As Jayden begins to walk out the room, Nina begins pushing her self up off the floor.

"Uh, Jayden," Emily calls.

"Yeah – oh," he says, turning around to see the incoming child. "So the little wolf can walk," he says, as the girl attempts to howl before she grins up as him holding out the bunny for him to take as she approaches.

"I think she wants to go with you," Emily smiles, standing up. Jayden meets to little girl halfway, taking the bunny before taking the outstretched hand. It's so small!

"Mama," Baby Nina says, turning back to Emily, who's eyes widen slightly as she glances up at Jayden. "Come." Nina beckons her with her floppy hand and the yellow rangers' approaches. Nina takes her hand too before she begins taking steps towards the door bouncing slightly.

* * *

It doesn't take too long for Nina's food to be ready. They just over boiled everything so it was soft enough for her to eat. Such as they carrot she's smushing on her face. As the infant watched to food being prepared she became a lot happier, the other rangers joining the red and yellow to see the happier girl. Seeing everyone at first, had scared her slightly and she leaned further into Emily at first but as Jayden and Emily began speaking to her more, the more engaged she got with everyone else so now she was freely speaking gibberish to all the rangers around her. They were able to somewhat follow what she was saying but a lot of the time they just nodded along, smiled and reacted accordingly as she spoke. However, a couple of hours later, Jayden is tucking Nina into her bed. Shaylee was going to try and make sure she didn't fall off during the night but just in case, they put a couple of thick blankets on the floor around her bed to cushion her fall if she did fall.

* * *

"Guys, I think I figured out how to get Nina back to normal," Shaylee exclaims running into the courtyard. Despite having a child to take care of the rangers still had to train. Nina had originally tried joining them, copying Mia as she began to get into position. Mentor had had to take her away and although she had whined at first, he managed to distract her by letting her paint.

"What?" Jayden asked, stopping Mike's swinging sword as he turns to Shaylee. "How?"

"Long story short, I did some tests from her hair and I found some markers on her DNA that weren't there before and they…" she trails off, looking at the rangers urgent faces'. She holds up a beaker containing an orange liquid. "She needs to ingest this… although this is it seriously gross so it might actually be easier for her to have it injected."

"Can you do it now?" Mia asks. Shaylee nods,

"Yeah, and I think I should." Mentor Ji got up with Nina and followed Shaylee and the rangers into the infirmary. As Shaylee sets up, grabbing a syringe Jayden walks over to his cousin.

"Hey, are you sure this is going to work? It's not going to hurt her right?"

"Jayden," Shaylee sighs. "I don't know. This is unchartered territory even for the previous rangers. I… I'm only 60% sure this will work."

"I don't like those odds Shay," Jayden mutters, knowing there's not much else she can do.

"I've tested, retested, tested my retests then retested them. This is the best I can do, Jayden," she replies, exasperated. "I need you to trust me."

"Of course, I trust you Shaylee. I'm sorry. I'm just worried," Jayden sighs.

"Me too," Kevin says, behind Jayden, baby Nina on his hip. "Like what if it causes her to start de-aging again? She already a baby? And if it doesn't stop at new born then she'll-"

"Kevin!" Emily snaps, effectively cutting him off as Nina begins whimpering and reaching for Jayden who takes her from Kevin. While the rangers had come to realise that to the girl any male was 'dada' and any female was 'mama', she had noticeably become more attached to Jayden, Emily and Mike, usually seeking one of them out when she was upset. "You are not helping. Of course, Shaylee's done everything she can and she hasn't let us down before. We have to trust her." Emily's gaze lands on Shaylee and she smile slightly. "Even, if she doesn't completely trust herself."

"You're right," Kevin nods, turning to Shaylee. "I'm sorry. I know you've got this." Shaylee nods, suddenly more reassured.

"Thank you, Emily," she says, before collecting the vial from Mia, and filling the syringe with the orange solution before gently taking one of Nina's arms, the girl's head laid on Jayden's shoulder. "Okay, Nina. This might hurt just a bit." However, almost as soon as the needle pierces her skin, Nina's hand snaps back up, eyes wide and watering but once the syringe in empty and Shaylee pulls it out, her eyes roll back and shut as her head falls back onto Jayden's shoulder, the rangers gasping.

"Shaylee," Jayden whispers, as the assistant mentor's eyes widen. She reaches for the girl and puts her on the bed before connecting her to some equipment and soon enough, her heartbeat can be heard around the room.

"She's okay," Shaylee sighs.

"Is it working?" Mike asks.

"I'm not sure… I think – I think we just have to wait."

"I'll go grab her some of her regular clothes," Mia says after a few minutes, standing up, just as the gap sensor begins ringing. All the rangers look at Jayden, no one moving yet.

"Guys," Jayden says, standing up. "We're all worried about Nina… but there's nothing we can do here. What we can do, is out there. It's our responsibility to defeat the Nighlok. We have to go." Once the rangers nod, Jayden's first to leave the room, shortly followed by the others.

* * *

It's a couple hours before the rangers get back but when they do, there is a half pleasant surprise. Nina, while still unconscious, was in her 17-year-old body again. Shaylee must've dressed her up when they were gone.

"Why isn't she waking up?" Mia asks.

"I'm not sure. She's been normal and steady for almost an hour now. I don't know what's taking so long. Everything's saying she should be awake now."

"Then why isn't she-"

"No!" Nina screams, her body snapping up into an upright position. "Stop! You're gonna kill them!"

"Nina!" Jayden says, grabbing her flailing arms. "It's okay!"

"No!"

"Nina!" He yells, grabbing the sides of her face, and turning her to him but her eye are wild and unfocused. "Look at me. It's not real. You're okay."

"Jayden," she breathes, her hands coming up to his forearms, her eyes finally seeing him.

"Yeah," he nods and she does so too, breathing shakily, before throwing her arms around his neck, still shaken. Jayden's arms quickly wrap around waist, his right hand rubbing up and down her back.

"Are you okay?" She whispers, tearily, her voice trembling. "Is everyone okay?"

"I'm okay. We're all okay, Nina," he replies, soothingly. She sounds _so _scared. He hates it. As the rangers, mentor and Shaylee watch the scene before them, their hearts break; from what they've all seen of her, it takes a lot to properly wipe the smile off the purple ranger's face but to see her this distraught? It's awful. As much as they want to comfort her, they don't want to overwhelm her because although, they know she's not, she seems very fragile at the moment and it's times like these that remind them that she – even though not by much – is the youngest of them all. "Are you?" Nina nods, fiercely.

"Yeah. I'm okay." Although, it's clear she wants to sound strong, her actions say otherwise as she hugs him tighter. "I'm okay."

* * *

Soon after, Nina lets Jayden go and settles down a bit she decides to have a shower before they catch her up on what happened since she doesn't really remember much. However, once she comes out of the shower, she's still pretty rattled and knows exactly who she wants to speak. As she opens her laptop to call her Osirian, she realises the date. March 13th?! She missed two days? Try as she may, the last thing she can remember, is fighting a Nighlok, (Bowser?) but it was definitely on the 11th because that same morning she had been waiting for the 13th because… she has to leave right now!

* * *

"Hey, you made it!" Logan says, first noticing as Nina approaches the group. It had taken a bit of time to convince the team, namely Shaylee and Mike that she would be fine and not too long. Strangely enough, it was Jayden who assured the others she would be fine, despite her not saying where she was going.

"Yeah, of course. I said I'd be here," she smiles, giving him a hug as the rest of the band comes over.

"Cutting it a bit close, aren't we?" he teases, as she hugs the others, rolling her eyes. Considering, she herself doesn't really know why that it, it's not like she can really tell them what happened even if she wanted to.

"I didn't say I'd be prompt," she replies grinning cheekily, although she must admit her smile wasn't quite as wide as usual. Logan just chuckles before grabbing, James and Carlos.

"The three of us have something to do on the bus," James says.

"No, we don't," Carlos says, confused before gasping. "Oh yeah we do! But Kendall doesn't have to help so you should talk with him." Nina just chuckles as they run off, Kendall looking at their retreating forms before turning back to her.

"Sorry about them," he says. "They like to be annoying."

"It's cool," she smiles.

"Are you okay, though?" He asks, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm – I'm fine," she replies but he's not convinced.

"Are you sure? You seem kinda… I don't know. Rattled?"

"I-" She begins, shocked he noticed. If she's still not hiding it, she knows it's bad. She definitely gonna try and Skype Eddie but if not she's email him. Hopefully, he'll get back to her quickly. "It's just the past couple of days have been kinda hectic and I just feel like I've… lost time? It sounds ridiculous but I feel like something bad is gonna happen and – I don't know why I'm telling you all this. This is so depressing," she chuckles nervously.

"Hey, I can tell this is seriously bothering you. If cryptically telling me what's up helps then I'm happy to listen," Kendall tells her, earnestly.

"Thank you," she smiles. "But no. This is the last time I'm gonna see you for a while. I don't want your lasting memory of me to be all sad."

"It's only a month," Kendall points out, but when Nina looks down and doesn't answer he sighs. "And then you say you're not coming back, right?"

"I should say that," Nina says, quietly, not looking up at him. "I really should say that… but I really don't want to."

"You don't?" He says, tilting her chin up with his finger, so she's looking into his eyes. She softly shakes her head.

"No."

"Good," Kendall says, leaning in. "I don't want you to either," he whispers and Nina, despite herself, tilts her head up as he eyes flutter shut but just as she feels his breath, just as he's lips are mere millimetres away from hers, the tour bus horn sounds loud, shocking both of them apart, eyes flying open as they hear Carlos' voice.

"Sorry everyone! I slipped!" Kendall chuckles, pinching the bridge of his nose as Nina laughs, running a hand through her hair.

"Kendall, hurry up! The other dogs said you were – oh it's you!" Gustavo says, sticking his head out of the window. "You're the one that made the mac and cheese right? Nina, was it?"

"Yeah," she nods.

"You know what? It's actually good to see you. The dogs work better when –"

"Gustavo, I'm coming !" Kendall interrupts.

"Yeah, just hurry up before we drive off without you."

"I think you have to go," she laughs as Gustavo head disappears again.

"Yeah," he nods. "Thank you for coming, Nina."

"Of course," she replies.

"I'll see you once we get back?" He asks.

"Eventually, yeah," she nods, stepping forwards to give him a hug. Once the tour bus drives off though, she sighs before making her way back to her worried teammates. But first things first; Eddie.

_**Ooh chapter twenty-one! What on earth was Nina experiencing when she woke up? Was that a Nighlok thing? A ranger thing? A chosen one thing? …or maybe it was just a Nina thing? Also, you guys have officially caught up to where I am. You'll still get your chapter on Friday don't worry but I have to admit I might take a break next week and not release any more chapters while I write but we'll see. I'll confirm that on Friday but just know that if I do, it'll only be for the week because I really don't like unfinished stories. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading **_


	22. House of Strength

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 22: House of Strength **

The past week had strangely been good for Nina, regardless of the fact that there had been some sort of attack every day. For example, the day after Nina was seventeen again (very strange situation) there was another Nighlok attack but this Nighlok managed to throw dirt on all the rangers except Emily, which already sounds ridiculous but what it did was even worse… they couldn't stop eating! The dirt caused the rangers to keep eating until they exploded! Of course, Emily wouldn't let that happen and naturally, Jayden wouldn't let her go into battle alone so as much as he struggled, he went after her to help but Emily did the bulk of the work, even using the black box! Once the Nighlok was destroyed though, whatever power the Nighlok had over the rangers broke so they rushed over to help defeat the mega mode although none of them could bare toe at for the rest of the day. The day after that was just a few moogers which could handle but the next day there was another Nighlok attack. This one actually caused Mike and Kevin to bound to each other at their wrists by some sort of unbreakable (trust me they tried), sticky white tack. While it was inconvenient, especially since the two of them could barely agree on a direction to walk _and _the two of had actually had dates planned with Mia and Shaylee, respectively, they eventually figured out how to work together to the point that bound together or not, they were totally in sync with each other – they even ended up just double dating with the girls which actually turned out pretty well. The most recent Nighlok attack, was just two days ago and this one had had a major impact on the team, namely Jayden. The team received a signal of disturbance on an small island but since the communication lines seemed to be down, the rangers decided to and investigate, Nina choosing to stay behind, half because while she had handed in her assignment she had sacrificed a bit of training time which she wanted to make up for and although she technically 'didn't need' to do so but she would only get better so what was the harm? The other reason she chose to stay behind was just in case of an attack on the city while the rest of the rangers were gone, luckily nothing like that happened but they did get a surprise visit from Cody whilst she trained with Shaylee – he got permission to come this time and he came baring one of the best homemade gifts Nina had ever seem. A bullzooka! Nina had borrowed Mentor's motorbike to take it to the rangers on the island and she hadn't arrived a moment too soon. She'd handed it to Jayden once she'd arrived and it had really help to turn the battle around. Seeing Deker, Serrator _and _Dayu in the same place made Nina wonder exactly what had gone down but she only asked the questions after the more pressing concerns were dealt with. She'd just been training a lot though and she felt great, strangely less stressed than the previous week.

* * *

Jayden had been very out of it since that battle, but Nina was only half sure why. Mia had told her what Deker had said to him, but he didn't really believe that did he?

"Come at me," Jayden growled, the surrounding rangers nodding at each other before charging in with their training swords against. This morning, the rangers, minus Antonio were practicing their group technique by going up against the strongest samurai they know; Jayden. They did this every now and then just to test and improve their group dynamic but the group while not quite out of sync, they were struggling to take down the red ranger because since it was training, naturally, they were holding back, just slightly, Jayden however, was not. He was fighting them full out, as though he were truly on his own, so once he knocked them down, and they got back up to try again, he spun his sword around, knocking every single one of them down, except Nina, who stepped back and when with the momentum of his sword to bring it down and trap it under hers, locking her eyes with him as she did.

"Jayden!" She hissed, more concerned than angry, unlike the green ranger.

"Dude! It's only practice!"

"Sorry!" Jayden replied firmly, straightening up and looking straight ahead. "Practice is over."

"Mike, come on," Emily said, walking over to pull Mike away, the tension in the courtyard thickening. "Let's go inside."

"Hey!" Antonio says, cheerily, appearing by the door. "Am I late?" Usually, Nina would have found this amusing, maybe even laughed but right now, their leader was her worry so as Mia addresses the gold ranger, Nina turns to Jayden, stepping so she's in front of him and if he looked down just slightly, instead of the fixed point he was staring above her head, she would be what he saw.

"Jayden, what's going on?" But when he doesn't even shift his gaze to her she sighs. "Is this about what Deker said? Because you do know that's not true, right?"

"I'm sorry for being so hard on you guys. I didn't mean to," he says flatly.

"Jayden- "

"I'll see you later," he tells her before walking over to Ji. She just sighs before heading inside, to the indoor dojo. She couldn't help, still wanting to train.

* * *

Terry had come over to the house to drop off something for Mia, so Nina came in to say hi but once he leaves, Nina turns to Mia.

"I don't know why I still find it so strange seeing him. I think it's just weird knowing someone else has a sibling." Mia furrows her brow at Nina.

"Someone else? You have a sibling?"

"What? You have a sibling," Jayden asks, his voice shocking everyone as he stand at the front of the room having just entered with Ji stopping, clearly intrigued by the question, a feeling that mirrored those of all the other rangers around.

Nina just laughed, "I was talking about Emily."

"Oh right!" Mia replies, joining in laughing just as the gap sensor going off.

"Rangers," Nina sighs, pushing herself up. "I believe we have a job to do."

"There's a disturbance at the coastline," Kevin said opening the map. "But-" He cuts himself off hearing the door open.

"Sorry we're late," Mentor Ji tells them.

"Jayden, we can handle this if you're not- "Mia begins but Nina and Jayden cut her off simultaneously says,

"He's fine." "I'm fine."

"See," Nina grins as Jayden chuckles slightly.

"I am fine. And, I'm sorry. I had a lot of things on my mind earlier. I was wrong to act the way I did."

The rangers look around at each other, Emily piping up first stepping forwards and placing a hand on his forearm.

"Jayden it's okay." He smiles at her before looking around at the rest of the team.

"I just want you all to know how proud I am to fight alongside you."

"Dude, really. It's okay. Just glad to have you back but can you stop the proud stuff? You're freaking me out," Mike said, putting his fist out for Jayden to bump as the others chuckle but Antonio raises his hand.

"Excuse me? Shouldn't we all be hightailing out to the coastline?"

Jayden nods, "Let's go."

* * *

Once the rangers arrived at the coastline, the Nighlok they discovered there was Serrator. At first, they had just been fighting moogers, and then Dayu came but strangely enough, she was fighting against Serrator. While that had confused the rangers, they hadn't had time to dwell on it since they had moogers to deal with but as they finished those off and Serrator too preoccupied with Dayu to call more forth the sky started darkening.

"What's going with the sky?" Mike asked as the rangers grouped together, thunder rumbling. "It's darkening like an eclipse." As lightning struck the ground Kevin asked,

"Nina?" But the purple ranger shook her head.

"This isn't me. This isn't natural. This feels… dark," she tells them just as a low, grumbling voice begins to speak,

"Days shall become night, as I escape the netherworld to face my enemies!"

"Xandred," Jayden states, recognising the voice.

"What?" Serrator says, from behind the rangers, his battle with Dayu paused. "It can't be."

"It can be," Xandred says, rocks rolling piling up, the eerie red glow of the netherworld gaps, seeping through the cracks. "And it shall be!" The rangers stand frozen, not much they can do as the rocks explode, a wide, tall figure, standing in its wake. Nina's breath caught as Kevin asked the question that everyone was thinking and already knew the answer to.

"Jayden, is that- "

"Master Xandred."

"Red ranger," the Nighlok King seethed.

"Guess, you're not as strong as you thought. Your night spell's already losing power," Antonio mocked.

"Xandred," Dayu gasped.

"His spell is fading so his visit here will be short," Serrator points out, as Xandred screams, a patch of his body already drying out.

"I will destroy you all!" Xandred yells, striking the rangers down, too quickly for them to react. "Serrator! It's your turn!" He sends, what looks like black and purple tendrils of smoke at Serrator.

"I will not be bound!" Serrator shouts back, dodging the attacks, losing when he was holding – Dayu's harmonium. "NO!" As he dodges more attacks, he speaks to Xandred. "I never thought you'd venture into the realm. While you dry out, I'll take my leave."

"You will not escape me!" Xandred yells but Jayden distracts him from that enemy, being the first to recover, he tries to attack Xandred with his Blazing Strike, but it has no effect, Xandred just grabbing the blade with his hand.

"Ahh, yes. The red ranger. Pathetic head of the Shiba clan." Xandred, simply, strikes him away. However, seeing their leader knocked down is exactly the boost the rangers need to get back up. Unfortunately, the sextuple strike they send Xandred has quite the opposite effect they intended as Xandred redirects it back at them, knocking them all back down.

"He's more powerful than I imagined," Mia groans. However, as the rangers are down, Emily begins reaching for her sword, but Jayden gets to it first.

"Red ranger, I owe your family some payback and you're the one who's going to pay," the Nighlok King grunts as Jayden stands tall in front of him, merging the bullzooka and black box with Emily's spin sword to create the super bullzooka!

"Jayden, hold on," Emily says, pushing herself up.

"Jayden don't do it," Kevin warns.

"Emily's right." Jayden replies, getting into position. "I have to try." Jayden and Xandred begin to battle, in the air but it's when none of the shots from the super bullzooka hit, both parties involved begin to get annoyed.

"Enough playing around," Xandred yells, shooting Jayden down.

"No!" Emily yelled, getting up with the other rangers.

"It's the end of the line red ranger." Xandred takes another shot and the red ranger as he begins getting up, this one way more than necessary to keep him down. Jayden's more drops and although he tries to get up again, his body has been through a lot, so he falls back down, unconscious. "Pathetic."

"No!"

* * *

"Bring him here, he'll be fine," Ji says, as the rangers burst in, Kevin and Mike, holding up the red ranger, placing him on a couch. Not moments after Xandred had taken down Jayden, had he himself been forced back to the netherworld by Octooro but not until he called forth a colossal Mooger cannon! The rangers, minus Jayden and Emily (who had stayed to take care of him) had entered their upgraded megazord to take it down before rushing back.

"I'll grab him some water," Mia says, leaving the room. Looking around, the room Nina sees tears welling up in Emily's eyes. She steps back, wrapping an arm around her back,

"He'll be okay. He's strong." She knows that the weight they must carry is properly settling into everyone now, especially after seeing their ultimate foe.

* * *

It's later in the day that Jayden wakes up, sore and bruised but otherwise okay. Shaylee assures them that he'll be back to himself in a couple of days if he takes it easy but that easier said than done.

"You're supposed to be resting," Nina huffed, as he enters the courtyard. Once, they got back and Shaylee had assured them all that Jayden would be fine, she had gone back outside to train. She had left in her training gear in the first place, so she didn't have to change so right now she was kind of a sweaty mess.

"Actually, I'm supposed to be taking it easy," he points out.

"Jayden, seriously. That wasn't any ordinary fight. Just tonight, please don't. If not for you, then for my piece of mind," she pleads, sighing in relief when he stops reaching for the training swords.

"Fine."

"Thank you," she breathes.

"Why are you training so much though?" He asks, causing her to furrow her brow.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," he says, taking the sword away from her hands. "What have you done today besides train and go into battle?"

"I… okay fine but that's one d- "

"Nina, what have you done this whole week besides training and fighting?" Nina opened her mouth to answer but shut it again when she realised, she couldn't.

"I didn't even realise I was doing it," she sighs, walking over to the bench, talking a seat as she pick up her water bottle.

"You're gonna burn yourself out if you keep training like this. Trust me, I learnt that the hard way," he tells her going over to join her. "So, what's wrong? Is it because of what you dreamt last week?" Nina hadn't really told anyone what she saw. Not even Eddie. She hadn't been able to Skype him (too many people (and ears) around on his end), but he had been on his laptop when she was, even though it had been incredibly early there, he had known something was up with her and wanted to make sure she was okay. They hadn't spoken about school, or power ranger-ing, or living at Anubis house-ing, or anything that would stress either of them out, they just talked, and it was great. While neither had spoken about what had been bothering them, just talking like regular teenagers had serious helped pretend the weight of the world didn't rest on their shoulders for a little while.

"Kind of, I guess," she shrugs.

"How about this? I'll tell you what was up with me if you tell me what's up with you?" He suggests.

"Fine," she nods. "But you first."

"Okay," he agrees. "Deker told me I've lost my edge. Relying on you guys too much so I've become weaker."

"Jayden," she sighs. "You _have _lost your edge and you _do_ rely on us but that does _not _make you weaker. We're a _team_. We rely on you too. And as much as we work together, we're great fighters on our own, especially you. You're not the same warrior you were when we all came together. That Jayden was lone wolf, so to speak. Now you're not. You are so much stronger and have become so much better since then. Whatever your edge was then? Yeah, you lost it, but you have a better one now and I don't just mean us, the team. You are a leader and have brought honour to the previous red rangers. Never forget that." Jayden chuckles. "What?"

"You sound just like Ji," he smiles.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"You should. Anyways, your turn. What's bothering you?"

"Okay, so I know I'm going to sound crazy but I'm being serious. I can't exactly tell you why but sometimes, I get these flashes, images in my head of things that are happening or going to happen. I can't really control it but it's how I knew about those plaques that were stopping you from morphing at the beginning of the year when Antonio and I were working on the black box."

"I remember. Are they like visions?" And Nina's not sure if it shows on her face but she's so relieved he seems to believe her.

"Right well, last week when you guys 're-aged' me before I woke up, I had one of these visions. It was… not nice to watch. Essentially, all of you guys, everyone I care about ended up dead. Killed right in front of me… in horrible ways," she pauses for a moment, trying not to go back there in her mind. "Nothing I did helped, and I don't know when what I saw is supposed to happen. So, I guess I just figured if I train hard enough, I might be strong enough to do something if what I saw…" she trails off, not wanting to say it out loud. "Seeing Master Xandred today and how powerful he actually is, freaked me out slightly so I returned to training overdrive mode."

"Nina, what you saw hasn't happened and we don't even know for sure that it will. All I know, is that we are going to put everything we have into destroying Master Xandred even if it means we don't all get to see it. All we can do, is of course train as hard as we can but don't forget to enjoy everything too. We need that balance. If you're always training, by the time we get to a real battle, one time you just might be too tired to give it your all. We need a bit of moderation."

"You're right."

"Of course, I'm right. I'm the red ranger," he teases, to which she laughs, rolling her eyes before she quiets down.

"Jayden?"

"Yeah?"

"He's coming soon, isn't he? Master Xandred? It's going to end soon," she says. She sees Jayden nod in her peripheral vision.

"Yeah. I think it is." They sit in silence, dwelling on that fact before Nina exhales loudly.

"Okay, how about this? I won't train anymore tonight, if you don't."

"Deal," he chuckles, as they get up heading inside.

"And thank you. For believing me," she tells him as they pass the threshold.

"Of course. I have no reason not to," he replies.

"Right, well I'm gonna go shower because I'm really sweaty," she says.

"Oh yeah, you should. You stink," he mocks.

"Hey! I've been told my sweat smells like cinnamon so-"

"It does! Nina, if anything you've told me tonight is crazy, it's that!" He gasps as she chuckles walking away to her room.

_**It's a day late but chapter twenty-two is a go! This is coming out slightly later in the day than I planned but it's out! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was fun and slightly difficult to write since I skipped a couple of episodes but it's cool. There's only eight chapters left! (Until touchstone of Ra that is but we'll talk more about that closer to the time **__**) Anyways, so just confirming that there won't be any chapters out next week but I should be back for next Tuesday but I'll keep you updated. See you in a week and thanks for reading!**_


	23. House of Destruction

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 23: House of Destruction **

It was early in the morning that the rangers were training in the outside courtyard as usual. Emily was sparring against Mia, Nina with Jayden and Kevin against Mike, although, Mike seemed to be putting in a bit more effort.

"Why would Master Xandred attack Serrator?" Kevin mused, effortlessly avoiding Mike's attacks. "Serrator must be going rouge! Attacking at odd places like that island. But why?" However, as Kevin knelt to pick up some stones, it meant Mike target had moved, sending him flying over Kevin's head, the sound alerting the other rangers. As Nina, helped Mike up, the others turned to what Kevin was doing.

"What's up, Kev?" Mike asks, sarcastically.

"Serrator has been placing a series of attacks on us," the blue ranger answers, too focused to notice or care about the green ranger's tone. "If he's fighting us and Master Xandred, he must be up to something big!"

"Huh?" Mike questions. Kevin sighs, running inside, the other rangers following him.

"Check this out. If we put a dot on the map for each recent Nighlok attack, like I did with those stones outside, this is what we get."

"Oh, I see it," Mike nods, leaning over to Emily slightly. "Now, what am I seeing again?"

But the yellow ranger just shrugs, "I dunno."

"Let him finish, Mike," Jayden says, firmly.

"Well, Serrator doesn't seem like the type of Nighlok to just attack randomly. I'm thinking there must be a pattern. I mean, why else would Dayu and Master Xandred attack Serrator. He really got out of there fast. Look. If we mark the places where Serrator has appeared or sent a Nighlok himself…" Kevin says, tapping on the map.

"They form a line," Mia points out.

"Yeah," Kevin nods. "This can't be a coincidence. Serrator's definitely up to something."

"And knowing him, it's probably something really bad," Emily says.

"Don't worry. Whatever he's up to. We'll stop him." Jayden nods.

* * *

The rangers dispersed around the house after hearing Kevin's idea. Nina went back to her room to do some schoolwork, history, before she heard the gap sensor go off. Running in the living room the map's already open.

"He's attacking a spot that's right in line with the others," Emily says. "The longer the line gets, it's like he's cutting the world in two."

"Wait, could he really split the earth like that?" Mike asks.

Kevin gasps, "Maybe that's his plan!"

"All that's gonna be cut is his plan," Jayden says. "Let's roll." As they run out, Ji calls after them,

"I'll call Antonio and tell him to meet you there."

* * *

They arrive just in time to block Antonio from being hit. There's a large group of people on the floor, cradling their stomachs, clearly in pain.

"Watch out," Antonio warns. "He can summon up swarms of these weird bugs."

"They're not the only thing I can summon," the Nighlok says, as moogers appear behind the rangers who naturally swing into action. Nina's distracted with her surrounding moogers but when she looks over, she sees Jayden facing off with Serrator, so she and the others manage to wipe out the moogers before going to stand together opposing the Nighlok who says,

"Very soon the final wedge of my plan will be in place and there's no way you can stop it."

"Wedge?" Jayden questions, the rangers suddenly very confused which makes Serrator laugh as he explains.

"Yes, a wedge of human sadness put in just the right place to split the earth in two."

"I can't let that happen," Jayden mutters.

"Go, Pestilox!" Serrator says to the other Nighlok. "Squeeze even more suffering from these pathetic humans."

"Suffering humans, coming up!" Pestilox says, walking off.

"No!"

"Oh, you're so annoying," Serrator says blasting the rangers but Antonio manages to jump on his back.

"We're happy to bug you any day, any time. Jayden, go get that cockroach."

"Yeah, we'll help Antonio," Mike says.

"Okay, Mia, Emily, let's go," Jayden says, the group splitting.

Nina helps fight Serrator with the boys but as they get knocked down,

"Guys!" Antonio yells but Serrator chuckles.

"Your friends have – huh?" Serrator says, cutting himself off and looking behind the Nighlok, Nina sees Deker holding a sword to the Nighlok's back. "Ah. Well, well, Deker how unexpected."

"What's going on?" Kevin asks but he gets not reply from the Nighlok.

"What a pleasant surprise."

"Spare me. You know why I'm here," Deker snarls.

"You've come for your real sword, Uramasa." Nina knew something looked off about Deker. Of course, it was the unfamiliar sword! "Good timing. My plan is reaching its climax. That glow coming from those humans is their misery creating a wedge in the earth. And surprise! It's the final wedge I need. All of my attacks in this world were designed to create a line of human misery. I used Xandred's monsters to orchestrate a symphony of human suffering to serve my brilliant objective. And now each of the wedges I created are ready to be activate," Serrator explains Nina can feel her face contorting in horror as he speaks.

"No!" Mike exclaims.

"Accept your fate. We're at the end of my perfect plan and the end of the world as you know it. Welcome to the start of my reign. Once this wedge is in place your world will be bursting at the seams, ready to be split open with one mighty stroke. I will flood the entire earth with the Sanzu river. Not with a trickle like Master Xandred had planned but with a terrorising torrent, the likes of which have never been seen. The earth will be entirely submerged in the red waters of evil and I will finally become the ruler of both our worlds," Serrator laughs, but Deker isn't exactly impressed which Nina notices. However, his laughter ceases as the humans, begin to get up, evidently much better.

"So Pestilox's first form has been defeated. No matter. Soon my finally wedge will sink into the earth." As Jayden and the other girls enter the megazord, Nina and the guys stay on the ground, sending the humans away to safety.

"Don't bother. See? Their misery is sinking into the earth," Serrator says, pointing at a strange purplish glow that slowly fades. "Now the last wedge is finally in place. Huh?" Serrator says as Deker raises his sword.

"Enough talk. Give me what you promised. Give me my sword, Uramasa."

"Why, of course. But, first, to complete our deal, you owe me one final favour," Serrator says, jumping back just slightly, to get away from the sword Nina assumes.

"Favour?"

"Just a little favour. The one to crack open the world must be someone who feels the pain of both the human and nether worlds but belongs to neither. That's you."

Deker growls. Clearly that information hadn't been relayed to him before.

"We got to stop them both!" Antonio says to his fellow rangers.

"Stop meddling!" Serrator yells, blasting them back. "Now, nothing will stand in my way." Luckily, the other half of their team had just destroyed Pestilox so they knew they would be joining them soon. "Pestilox's defeat won't save them. The wedge is set." And as if on cue, the ground begins to shake. "Look, it's power is surging! Now it is time for you to finish this with a final strike from your one true sword." Serrator pulls out Deker's sword, holding it out to him. "Deker, time to play your part. Uramasa, your sword, as promised. Live up to your end of the deal. Take it Deker. With it, you shall shatter the world." Jayden, Mia and Emily appear, running in from their battle and Deker looks over to them as he replies.

"No. All I want is my sword, Uramasa." However, as he reaches for it, Serrator steps back.

"Of course, you do. I planned for this and made sure that your centuries of misery and rage were locked up inside of Uramasa."

"What?" Deker asks.

"Yes, the only way to release yourself from all that pain is for you to quickly take your sword and strike before this wedge explodes. Trust me, with one quick slash, your curse will finally be broken, and you shall truly be free."

"Free," Deker repeats. "Free at last." However, before more words can be said a supersonic explosion of purple light is released from the earth.

"The energy is surging," Kevin says. "The ground is weakening along the line." Just as Jayden gasps, noticing something,

"Get down!" He yells, grabbing Emily and Mia back to shield them, just as another explosion in released, this one more violent, sending all of them flying back, de-morphing as Serrator floats in the air.

"This is just a taste of the awesome power to be unleashed." And looking around the rangers can see purple beams of light shooting from the earth into the sky. "See, the earth cries out ready to be carved in two and you Deker are the only one who can make it happen. I shall locate the weakest spot between our two worlds for you to make your final strike. I know that in the end, you will do my bidding.

"Rangers, your world is crumbling before your own eyes. There's nothing you can do to stop me now," Serrator cackles as the rangers struggle to get up before unconsciousness takes over.

_**Guess who's back?! Me! So, I know this chapter isn't the longest so sorry about that, but the plot is moving along swiftly! Anyways, I don't have too much to say just that I'm now ahead again, almost finished so there shouldn't be any more breaks. See you on Friday and thanks for reading **_


	24. House of Splits

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 24: House of Splits **

Nina doesn't know how long she's out for but when she looks around, she's alone. Wanting to make sure her teammates are okay, she pushes herself up, off the ground and begins stumbling before finding her footing to find them all but when she does it turns out they're all looking for her.

"Where's Nina?" Kevin asks.

"I'm here," she says, appearing behind him. Taking in her teammates appearances she realises that she must look as roughed up as they do.

"Let's go back to the house," Jayden suggests, the others nodding, agreeing that's their best course of action for now.

* * *

Arriving back at the house the rangers separate, going to freshen up before regrouping back in the living room, the map open. "The Sanzu river is erupting through all six locations," Kevin informs them.

"And it gets worse," Ji says looking over the blue ranger's shoulder. How could it get any worse? Nina wonders. "Look, all along this line, the barrier between our world and the nether world is growing weaker." Yup, that would be worse.

"Isn't there anything we can do about this?" Mia asks and the red ranger looks up at her answering,

"The only way to stop this is to stop Deker."

"I'm sorry, guys," Antonio says, standing up. He had been sitting on a stool, facing away from the team since they got back so this was, they'd heard him speak in a while. "Earlier today, I had a chance to stop Deker but I, uh, let him go."

"What do you mean?" Mia asks, seriously, the rangers full focus on him.

"After the blast, he was laying there defenceless but, I- I- I – couldn't bring myself to attack him."

"Wow," Emily says, in awe but Antonio misjudges her tone.

"I know! I blew it!"

"No, samurai never attack defenceless opponents," Kevin corrects him, but Antonio isn't convinced.

"But still…"

"Dude, you made the right choice. Come on, even I know that," Mike says.

"Your decision is what separates us from the Nighlok," Jayden reminds him but none of that seems to help Antonio.

"But I still should've done something," Antonio says, running out, ashamed.

"Excuse me," Nina says, walking past the other rangers, knowing what she has to do.

* * *

She's not exactly sure how she finds her way there, but it ends up being exactly where she needed to go because as she arrives in the clearing, she finds Deker looking at the ruins of an old house. She's sure he hears her approaching but she decides to speak up anyways, just in case.

"Did this place mean something to you?" She asks but he doesn't even flinch at her voice, so she continues walking forwards until she's in line with Deker to his left.

"I don't know," he replies after a moment. "I feel like there's something I'm forgetting when I'm here. A piece of my past… I just don't remember."

"I understand," Nina nods, continuing to stare at the ruin even when she feels him turn to look at her.

"And how purple ranger, do you understand?" Nina just sighs before turning to face the half Nighlok.

"I know you know who I am. My role besides the purple ranger." Deker nods, not taking his eyes off her face.

"I wasn't completely sure, but I suppose this is confirmation, chosen one." Nina nods.

"Before I realised, I found myself drawn to things I didn't recognise, understanding things I shouldn't know. It was pretty scary."

"Is that what you think?" Deker questions, stepping closer to her, probably meaning for it to threaten her but Nina holds her ground. "That I'm scared?"

"A little bit," Nina admits. "There's a whole chunk of your life, your human life I'm assuming, that you can't remember and all you're left with is the need to fight a worthy opponent? You must be at least confused."

"You underestimate how long I've been roaming this earth, chosen one," Deker says, walking past her, Nina turning to follow. "It's more than ten times of your current life. After a while, you learn to just accept what you can't remember and focus on what you can do."

"Like fighting the red ranger? Splitting the world in two?"

"Splitting the world in two is Serrator's plan. Not my own," he reminds her as they stomp through the forest. "I just want my sword, Uramasa, back."

"I know that but Deker – whoa," she says, tripping over a large tree root. What surprises her though is that half Nighlok puts out his hand, offering to help her up. She looks at it hesitantly for a moment before taking it, brushing herself off. "Thank you." She says but he just continues walking.

"Chosen one. I just want to be free. For centuries I've roamed this earth searching for a way to be free and for the first time I've found an opponent my sword, Uramasa, deems worthy. I refuse to pass up the chance."

"Is that really the only way? A battle until one of you can't fight anymore?" Deker stops walking so suddenly that Nina almost crashes into him.

"You know, you're not the first chosen one I've met," he says. "When I met one of your predecessors, she told me that she could help me. As the chosen one she had the power to help set me free, but she was destroyed before she could. So, tell me, what power do you have to help me?"

"I – "Nina was slightly taken aback by this. She had never felt that she could help Deker before. "I don't know." She admits and Deker just continues walking through.

"I can feel Uramasa calling me."

"Deker, wait please don't do this. If she said that there's a way for me to help you just hold on. Give me some time and I'll figure it out." Deker glances back as her, not saying anything for a moment before turning back to the front.

"Had you not been the chosen one, you just might have been the one Uramasa chose for me to face."

"What does me being the chosen one has to do with it?"

"I've seen what the wrath of the Osirian looks like," he says simply. "Otherwise, I think you would've been a worthy opponent." Nina doesn't quite know how to reply to that (is she supposed to say thank you?), so she doesn't, however, after a few minutes of walking in silence she speaks again.

"I know I don't know you, but I don't think you want to destroy the whole earth. That's so many people dying for no reason. From what I've seen, you don't hate humanity _that _much." Before he can say anything, if he was even going to, her samuraizer begins to ring, she glances up at him and he just continues to walk so she answers it.

"Hello?"

"Nina, where are you?" Mike asks.

"Uh, the forest," she says, not quite wanting to share who her present company is. "Why?"

"The team's split up. Jayden, Emily and Mia have gone to deal with an attack from Serrator, but we think Antonio went to find Deker, so Kevin and I are looking for him."

"He did what?" Nina says but as she walks out into another clearing, onto a pathway, she sighs, "I think I can help with the Antonio situation. I'll see you soon." She hangs up, looking ahead to see her gold teammate in the path.

"Nina?" He asks, noticing her but Deker quickly refocuses his attention to himself, speaking up.

"Well, if it isn't the fisherman."

"So, are you on your way to help Serrator rip open the earth?" Antonio asks.

"Hmm, if you're worried about that then why didn't you stop me when you had the chance?" Deker taunts… Antonio said he wasn't even conscious though. How could he know?

"What?" Antonio asks, clearly as confused as Nina.

"Hmm."

"Doesn't matter. I'm here to stop you know," the gold ranger says.

"Go ahead. Attack me I'm unarmed," Deker taunts and Antonio starts to unsheathe his sword… but then he sighs, putting it back in a falling to his knees, Deker scoffing, "I didn't think so." As he walks past but he stops as Antonio speaks up,

"I'm begging you. Please, just forget about your sword and walk away. I know you wanna lift your curse but if you do what Serrator asks, millions of people will suffer a horrible fate."

"I knew it. You're no samurai. You don't have the guts to stop me," Deker spins as swings his sword at Antonio but Nina rushes forwards with her spin sword, blocking the attack.

"No," she growls, just as Mike and Kevin arrive. The two guys begin attacking him as Nina rushes back to Antonio but Deker steps back.

"This is a waste of time. You're not worthy opponents." Deker flips over the lot of them, walking away.

"You're wrong Deker," Mike yells after him. "Honour and compassion aren't Antonio's weaknesses. His heart is his greatest strength."

Mike walks back over to join his rangers.

"I was a fool to think, Deker could be reasoned with," Antonio says.

"No, you were really brave," Kevin corrects. "We need a samurai like you on the team, to remind us what we really stand for." Kevin hands Antonio his fallen sword. The gold ranger stares at it for a moment before grabbing the sword.

"Let's go stop him once and for all."

* * *

"Split this world open and you'll be free! And I'll be ruler of both our worlds," Nina hears Serrator to Deker say as her and the boys arrive, fully morphed.

"no!" Antonio yells.

"Stop!" Mike shouts.

"Don't do it!"

Serrator, however, just flings the oncoming rangers out of the way with a blast, sending them flying to where the rest of the team is.

"No!"

"Super bullzooka!" Jayden says, getting up. "Drop that sword!" he yells, pulling the trigger, aiming at Serrator and Deker.

"Enough of these games! This is the end of the line," Serrator says absorbing the blast in his hands before sending it back. "Literally!" The blast hits the rangers with such force that they fall back, demorphing. "It's time! Do it!" Serrator yells at Deker who raises his sword. Serrator cackles as Jayden cries out,

"No!"

However, in a shocking turn of events, when Deker brings his sword down, instead of striking the Earth, he spins around striking Serrator!

"Why?" Serrator asks, falling to his knees. "How could you betray me like this?"

"You had what I wanted," Deker replies. "Your mistake was thinking I shared your hatred of humanity. I care only for the sword. You made me that way. Remember?"

"You're as heartless as any Nighlok," Serrator spits.

"And so, it ends here," Deker replies, sheathing his sword.

"200 years of planning, ruined in an instant," Serrator moans, standing up. "Now you will feel my wrath!" He sends out strikes out lightning to hit the rangers. Deker manages to jump up the cliff but before making his leave, he turns back to the team.

"Rangers, I trust you'll finish this."

"The great deceiver has been deceived!" Serrator continues to whine.

"Go, go Samurai!" The rangers call out, morphing again, Jayden with the super bullzooka and the other rangers with the octo cannon.

"Antonio!" Kevin calls.

"Lead the way!" Mike nods.

"Right! Six-disc octo cannon! Ready!"

"Super bullzooka!" Jayden yells.

"Really?" Serrator laughs hysterically, stopping his tantrum to pay attention to the rangers. "You – you will all pay the ultimate price!"

"Think again!" Antonio calls. "Cannon blast! Strike!"

"Bullzooka blast!" Jayden yells, both pulling their triggers, the power of both blasts sending the Nighlok up in flames.

"We've still got another round left!" Mike exclaims.

"I'm not beaten yet!" Serrator calls, appearing in mega mode. Sending blasts down on them.

"Mega mode power!" The rangers call in unison. "Zords, combine!

"Samurai megazord!" The girls say.

"Bull megazord!" Jayden says.

"Claw battlezord south!" Antonio shouts.

"Lightzord's ready too!" Mike and Kevin say together.

"Twin papyrox!" Serrator yells, calling forth two of the minions, who immediately beginning running to the rangers.

"Jayden let us worry about the papyrox," Kevin tells him.

"Yeah, you go get Serrator!" Antonio agrees.

"With pleasure," Jayden smirks. The rangers battle the papyrox, and knowing that once they defeat them, they can help their leader defeat Serrator which does wonders for their motivation. The rangers finish them off just in time to block what Serrator believed to be his finishing move on Jayden.

"There's too much at stake," Mike says. "How do we finish this guy off?"

"We need to use the samurai gigazord!" Antonio tells him.

"Good idea," Jayden nods. Whipping out a disc, he calls,

"Ultimate Samurai combination!" Which is how all four megazords come together. They block and attack Serrator and when they finally knock him down Jayden tells them,

"Now's out chance! Shogun mode!" Although, it's just Jayden that transforms, all the rangers can feel the extra boost in power, pumping in their veins. "Power of the ancestors! Symbol power! Shogun strike!"

"What now?" Serrator groans as he gets up, the blast just reaching him, but he catches it in his hands.

"Rangers, you'll never defeat me!" He sends the blast right back to them, knocking them back a bit.

"No Nighlok has ever survived that attack before!" Kevin gasps.  
"I'll take you Samurai rangers out, if it's the last thing I do!"

"We came so close to beating him!" Emily sighs.

"The gigazord just doesn't have enough power," Mia groans.

"Enough power," Antonio mutters before perking up. "Jayden, we still have one zord up our sleeve."

"Of course!" Jayden nods, recalling what Antonio means. He takes a disc from the lightzord.

"Sharkzord combination!" A fish shape zord, comes to the megazords hand.

"You defence looks awfully fishy," Serrator jokes before sending a blast at the megazord but they are blocked with ease by the Sharkzord slash.

"Everyone," Jayden says. "Channel the power of all our zords. It's going to take everything we have to take him down."

"Ultimate Samurai Slash!" The megazord's sword slashes straight through the middle of the Nighlok, a bright light appears as he speaks,

"No! I was supposed to split open your world! You weren't supposed to do it to me!" Before he finally disappears in an explosion.

"Samurai rangers, victory is ours," Jayden grins.

* * *

"Guys we did great today!"

"After a battle like that I'm starving!" Mike says.

"You're always starving," Emily laughs but the rangers slow down, seeing they're missing someone.

"Antonio?" Mia asks. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just think about what Deker did," he nods. "The choice he made."

"You made a choice too," Jayden points out. "You stood up for what's right."

Antonio nods, "And unlike the Nighlok, we will never betray each other."

Kevin laughs, putting his hand in between them all. "Rangers together." Everyone smiles, putting their hands-on top.

"Samurai forever," Antonio smiles.

_**So, here's chapter twenty-four! Ooh six chapters left! Are you guys ready for it to end? I'm excited for these next few chapters! Just because everything's finally reaching it's climax so I think it's going to be really interesting for you to read and of course I have a couple of my own chapters in and plot twists so I can't wait for you guys to read them. Anyways, just in preparation for the last chapter, hopefully I'm not giving too much a way, but please review or PM me some questions that you have for the rangers! Anyways, see you on Tuesday for a new chapter and thanks for reading **_


	25. House of Revelations

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 25: House of Revelations**

"Whatcha doing?" Nina asks, seeing Mia standing slightly behind the open front door. The pink ranger flinches, before turning to see the purple ranger approaching. "You look suspicious."

"Ji just gave Jayden a letter with the Shiba family crest on in," she admits.

"Do you know what it's about?" Nina asks, following as Mia begins walking.

"No, I couldn't hear what they said."

"Hmm," Nina sighs.

"You must be hungry, you've been training all morning," Mia says as they enter the kitchen, opening the fridge. Nina had been training inside since she finished her work earlier that morning and she _was_ hungry but certainly not for whatever Mia was going to whip up so she places her hand on it before it can open too wide and shuts it instead.

"No. I'm actually gonna go shower first," she says, backing out of the room but before she can reach the threshold, the gap sensor blares. Rushing to the living room, they find everyone already there.

"Nighlok attack at the park," Jayden says, no letter in his hand. He must've already put it in his room. "Let's go."

* * *

"These moogers get uglier every time I see them," Antonio says as he slashes at a couple.

"Yo, moogers have cornered the market on ugly," Mike laughs. "It's what they do best."

"Stay focused," Jayden instructs, taking down some moogers behind him. "Pick your targets."

"I've picked mine," a new voice says behind him, shocking him but before can react, a blast is sent his way, knocking him back.

"Whoa!" Jayden gasps.

"Jayden!" Kevin calls.

"Are you okay?" Emily asks, neither able to reach him just yet, due to the moogers.

"Yeah I – ah!" Jayden cries out, falling to a knee, just as something that looks like blue flames lights up where he was just hit before fading.

"What's that smoke?" Antonio questions, the other rangers now noticing the smoking red ranger.

"It feels like my insides are burning up," Jayden groans.

"Let me get you even more fired up!" The Nighlok yells, causing Jayden to move, blocking her attacks. However, once the rangers hear their leader cry out again Kevin points out,

"She's singling out Jayden," he says, defeating the majority of moogers around him. "We have to protect him!" He yells, diving in front of him, just in time to take a hit.

"Ugh! That would've finished him!"

"Careful," Jayden warns. "Those blast are powerful."

"I feel okay," Kevin says, after a moment, once the power of the blast wears off. Jayden steps forwards, trying to hit the Nighlok but it disappears in a wave of blue butterflies.

"That blast didn't affect me much," Kevin admits.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm barely scratched. I think we can block her shots, rangers." And just as the Nighlok reappears, the rangers manage to surround their leader but the shot she fires, hits them all. Jayden included, who's put into more pain.

"Jayden!" Nina yells, feeling herself warm up with anger.

"Why's that just happening to him?" Emily asks.

"I'll tell you why," the Nighlok says approaching. "The head of the Shiba family has massive fire symbol power. My heat flashers simply ignite the flames already inside him. And you can't stop me," she says disappearing in a wave of the butterflies. "You can't even see me," she cackles.

"Guys, we have to protect Jayden and the sealing power," Kevin tells them. As the rangers stand guard around the fallen ranger the Nighlok suddenly appears in flashes and takes shot at each of them.

"You guys, stop taking hits for me!" Jayden pleads.

"We have to protect you!" Mike says. "Besides, her hits aren't that strong. We're a team, Jayden."

"He's right," Emily nods. "If they want you, they'll have to go through us first."

"Exactly," Nina adds. "We're – whoa!" She gasps as where the Nighlok hit her before suddenly starts sparking.

"Nina!" Jayden gasps as she falls to her knees.

"What's happening?" Kevin asks.

"I'm fine," she says, standing back up, feeling slightly warmer than before. Maybe the heat wasn't completely from anger.

"Nina…" Jayden sighs.

"Seriously, no burning inside sensation. I've got your back," she says, just as the Nighlok reappears.

"Ready to have a blast?" She cackles before going blast crazy on the team. However, this time, when Nina falls to the ground, she sparks more violently than before crying out in pain as smoke begins coming from her suit.

"Nina!" The rangers yell.

"Please, you guys need to stop protecting me!" Jayden pleads, as Nina begins pushing herself back up, although it's clear the task is very laborious. "I can handle this," Jayden mutters, forcing himself up too. "You want me? Then fight me, not them!"

"Jayden, no," Nina groans.

"Super samurai mode!"

"Nice vest," the Nighlok says, appearing before blasting him again. "Trying to run won't help. Are you sparking because of this?" She asks, turning to the purple ranger.

"It's your weapon. You tell me," Nina replies.

"Well," the Nighlok shrugs. "I guess lightning has a heated spark inside too!" She cackles as she blasts Nina again.

"Ugh, petty!" Nina grunts, the other rangers calling her name as she begins sparking again.

"Go help, Jayden," she pants. "I'll be fine in a minute."

"You guys go. I'll wait with her," Mike says, kneeling down next to her. The rangers nod,

"We can't let Jayden do this alone," Kevin says.

"That's just who Jayden is," Mike mutters as they run to help him. "He'll do anything to protect us."

"And it works both ways," Nina says, breathing heavily, as she sits up. Mike offers her a hand as she begins to stand up.

"Are you sure, you're okay?"

"I won't be if Jayden gets hurt," she replies, her suit still smoking. "Come on!"

The two of them run through the forest, looking for the rangers but find Jayden de-morphed on the floor and the Nighlok turning to ashes.

"Jayden!" Nina exclaims, running straight for him. "You're gonna be okay."

"Just hang on," Kevin tells him.

"You got to lead, Kevin," Jayden says, handing him the black box.

"You can count on me," he nods, taking it.

"He's toast," the Nighlok says, appearing in her mega mode. "And the rest of you will be next."

They morph into the claw armour megazord. However, try as they may the Nighlok (they still don't actually know her name) is just too fast, especially with her disappearing act. That – combined with her strength – is enough to separate the zords! However, separating the zords, brings something new to the rangers' attention.

"Who's in the lion zord?" Mike asks as it jumps to attack the Nighlok, taking even her by surprise.

"It can't be Jayden," Antonio points out, "He's still on the ground."

"Then who's in his zord?" Emily asks, very confused. Meanwhile, whoever it was in the zord, it looked like they had the same enemy as they wasted time kicking the Nighlok's butt!

"Samurai rangers," a female voice says, shocking all the rangers. "Victory is ours."

"This doesn't make any sense," Mia says.

"We have to help Jayden," Emily reminds them. They exit their zords, demorphing before going to their leader on the ground.

* * *

"Jayden!" Emily calls out as they near him as the red ranger seems to be losing consciousness but hearing his name revives him just a bit.

"I'm okay," he says as the rangers begin helping him up.

"We need to get him to the Shiba house," Kevin says as he and Antonio put Jayden's arms around their shoulders. However, as they begin walking Nina feels a sense of vertigo and stumbles forwards, the ground getting closer to her face.

"Whoa, Nina!" Mike exclaims, catching her before she can hit the ground.

"It's okay," she gasps, realising what just happened. "I'm okay, it was just a moment."

"You and Jayden are exactly the same," Emily sighs, wrapping an arm around Nina. "Let's get you back to the house. We'll see if you're really okay then." They only take a few steps before the sound of someone landing on the ground behind them catches their attention. The sight they see however was incredibly unexpected… it's a red ranger… but Jayden was still with them and this one was a girl! After a moment, she drops her morph and a blonde girl with green-grey eyes standing before them.

"What's going on here?" Mia asks.

"Who are you?" Antonio asks the blonde girl… but it's not her who answers.

"She's my big sister," Jayden says. A series of 'huh' sounds through the group.

"She's _your _big sister?" Nina asks, looking at him, eyes wide. Looking back at her, he nods.

"Yeah. Lauren."

"What?" Antonio exclaims. "You didn't tell us you had a sister."

"Hi Jayden," she smiles, walking towards him. She stops in front of him, before hesitantly bringing her hand up to his cheek which Jayden leans into.

"Why didn't we know about you?" Emily asks. "And where have you been?"

"Why weren't you with Jayden- "Mike begins before Mia cuts him off.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't just throw a million questions at her, why don't we start with this: Lauren, welcome to the samurai rangers."

"Thank you," Lauren smiles. "I've imagined this day for a long time. I can't get to know each other of you," she says looking around at all of them. "And especially my little brother."

* * *

Later at the Shiba house, Jayden is in the hospital room with Lauren and Shaylee. Nina was there only for a few minutes while Shaylee checked on her but then she figured she'd give them space to catch up and join the other rangers in the living room as Ji told them about Lauren before going to rest in her room.

"The Nighlok never even knew Lauren existed. It was all part of their father's secret plan. You see, in the last invasion Master Xandred's forces were waging an intense battle. They were overwhelming the samurai rangers. So, their father put all his faith in his children. Lauren was sent off and put into hiding so she could fully master the sealing power. But while his sister practiced the sealing symbol, someone had to continue to battle the Nighlok. That's where Jayden came in."

"But Jayden was only a little boy then," Mia points out.

Ji nods, continuing, "His father feared he himself hadn't mastered the sealing power, but he was determined to try. He hoped, even an imperfect seal would be strong enough to at least send Master Xandred to the bottom of the Sanzu river. Long enough to allow his daughter to truly master the symbol herself and his son to grow strong enough to protect the world until she did. To deceive the Nighlok, Jayden had to do one of the hardest things in the whole world; hide it from his best friends."

"He must have felt like his whole life was a secret," Mike sighs.

"And he's being carrying that around inside himself all this time," Mia adds.

"So," Emily asks. "Does this mean she's ready?"

"Yes," Ji nods, clearly proud. "She has finally mastered the sealing power, the only power capable of sealing Master Xandred away forever. This is the day we've been waiting for."

* * *

After Ji explained what had happened with Jayden and Lauren, Nina had planned to go straight to her room, but the sound of her name stopped her.

"Nina, hold on," Lauren calls, behind her.

"Hey Lauren, how's Jayden?" Nina asks.

"He's still slightly out of it but Shaylee said he'll be fine," she says. "You know, you really didn't have to leave the room."

"I know," Nina sighs. "But I know if it was any of the other rangers, they would have left to give you guys time to catch up. Why wouldn't I?"

"Still," Lauren sighs. She'd felt bad that the purple ranger felt the need to leave.

"Besides, my bed is a lot more comfortable," Nina only half jokes. The beds in the hospital room were pretty comfortable but she'd pick her bed over those any day.

"Right and I should let you get back to that. You do need to rest but before you go, I wanted to give you this." She holds out a letter with the Shiba family crest on it. Nina's eyes widen as she takes it.

"It's a letter from the red ranger. The previous one," she explains.

"For me?"

"You are the purple ranger, aren't you?" she teases. "I was instructed only to give it to you once I arrived."

"Thank you," Nina replies.

"You must be tired, so I'll let you get to your bed," Lauren says, beginning to walk away.

"Lauren," Nina says after a moment.

"Yeah?" She replies turning around, just missing bumping into Mia as she exits from her room.

"After seeing you in the megazord yesterday, I'm glad to have you on the team."

"Thank you."

* * *

Once Nina got to her room, she couldn't help but open the letter immediately. It's not every day you get a letter from such a legendary ranger. Reading the content though was shocking, as while she understood it, she couldn't bring herself to believe it. Believing that maybe a good night's sleep (even though it was only 4:30pm) would help her concentration Nina put the letter in her bottom drawer then went to sleep. She didn't realise just how exhausted she was until she woke up. It was 6:30am when she next checked the time. She had essentially slept the day away, even slept through her alarm. Looking over and seeing the assistant mentor in the other bed she realised she had no idea when she had even come in although she vaguely remembered her pulling her duvet over her. Stretching in the bed, she realised how sore her muscles actually were, but she couldn't let that keep her down. She had already woken up much later than usual so she figured she might as well switch her routine a bit for the day.

Instead of doing her schoolwork first, she decided to go and train first a bit, just to warm up her muscles and slowly ease herself back in before heading inside to shower just as the other rangers came outside. After her shower, she went to grab some breakfast and check in on Jayden who was still asleep before heading back to her now empty room to do some schoolwork. Essentially all her coursework for her subjects was in so at this point she was on the final topic section for each of the classes from talking with Eddie though, she was getting through it all a lot faster than they were over there. Luckily, that meant more time for her to revise if she was going to make it to her exams.

Since Lauren hadn't really had a proper welcome for Lauren given all the drama with the fire flashers, they figured they'd have a barbeque for her today. Nina knew they were supposed to start at twelve (it was now quarter past) and it sounded like the others were already outside so she assumed the knock at her ajar door (Shaylee had come in earlier and had failed to shut the door and while it had been annoying Nina this whole time she still couldn't bring herself up to shut it herself) was going to be one of the others telling her to hurry up.

"Sorry, I didn't tell you about Lauren earlier," she hears Jayden say which shocks her; she didn't know he was up yet.

"It's okay. I get it," she says, not turning around as she finishes typing her sentence. "I mean, a little warning would've been nice…" she trails off as she turns around and takes in his appearance. She sees his duffel bag. She knows exactly what's going on. "Jayden, no. Don't do this. Don't leave. Not now."

"I have to," he sighs.

"No, you don't," Nina replies, getting up.

"I do," he tells her, putting his bag down. "You guys are too loyal to me. Lauren's the one with the sealing power. She's supposed to be the red ranger. She's supposed to be your leader. If I stay, dangerous mistakes could be made."

"Lauren, _just _got here and you're gonna leave?"

"Nina," he sighs. He doesn't want to leave. Of course, he doesn't. But matter how much he wants to stay, it's not about what he wants, or what the team wants. It's about keeping the world safe, regardless of what it does to them.

"You could stay," she whispers, tears welling up. "You could stay and be- "He cuts her off, knowing exactly what she's going to say.

"Nina, listen okay," he says, placing his hands on her shoulders to look her in the eyes. "You are the purple samurai ranger. That is no mistake. You have a duty to protect this world. I was always just standing in until Lauren was ready. And now she is so I'm stepping back. That was always the plan."

"Well, the plan sucks," she mutters, stepping forwards to give him a hug, which he returns, laughing a little.

"Yeah, just a bit."

"This is an 'I'll see you later,' by the way," Nina says, pulling away. "And for the record, you are not just a stand in ranger." Jayden just smiles picking up his bag again.

"Are you coming?" He says but she shakes her head. "Okay, I'll see you later then."

"See you later," Nina repeats, as he steps out of her room. "Jayden," she says before he can shut the door. He opens it widen again, waiting for her to speak. "Don't forget to give Emily a 'see you later' hug too." The (old? No. Original) red ranger rolls his eyes, but she sees his smile before he shuts the door. She leans against it as she hears him walk away, inhaling deeply as tears begin forming again.

* * *

It's only a couple of minutes later than Nina decides to step out as she hears the other rangers' protests. He must've told them. She stops in the doorway just as Kevin says, "I'm going with you."

"You're a samurai ranger. I'm counting on you to stay and fight by my sister's side," Jayden says. "I know you'll make her as proud of you as you've made me."

"This can't be happening," Emily mutters as he walks away.

* * *

"It was Jayden who brought us altogether," Emily says, tearily as the rangers sit in the living room, it's evening now and the mood had shifted greatly from how it was at the beginning of the barbeque. "Somehow, fighting next to him made me a stronger warrior."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Mike asks. "Just forget about him like he never existed?"

"Of course not!" Lauren says.

"Mike, you remember what Jayden said. We have a duty as samurai." Kevin reminds him.

"Well, he my best friend," Antonio says, standing up, walking out of the room. "And technically, I'm not a true samurai like all of you are. So, I'm going after him."

"I'm sorry Lauren," Mike says, after a moment. "I'm sure you're a great samurai. But it's just not the same without Jayden."

_**Oh, chapter twenty-five! Lauren Shiba hello! But Jayden… why did you have to leave? Drama. Drama. Drama! It's beginning to reach it's ending climax! Oh, also I know I said BTR left for their tour around the 23rd of March but I've updated the chapter and pushed it back to the 13th so they're back earlier. I also remembered that I said I'd upload Nina's necklace (imagine it without the star though) as the photo ages ago but I forgot until now! Sorry! It's done now though :) Anyways, I hope you guys are enjoying this. The plot is thickening! See you on Friday!**_


	26. House of Battles

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 26: House of Battles**

It had only been a day since Jayden left (and Antonio still hadn't come back either) but Nina had come to realise that considering how long she's been doing it, training had definitely become one of her methods of distraction and release hence, she was in the outdoor dojo now. She had gone to sleep early last night, too much had happened, emotionally and physically over the past few days but that meant she had been up even earlier than usual and after doing about two hours of school work she had headed straight out to train just as the sun was beginning to light it up. She had no idea how long she had been out, but she knew the others ought to have been there when it felt as though it had been a few hours (which she had also realised usual meant it had been much longer). Taking a break, she checked the time and seeing it was just after twelve, she headed inside, just to check the other rangers were okay. It doesn't take her long to find them all together in the indoor dojo. It was a loud thump on the ground that she was 90% sure was Mike that lead her there. Arriving there, she saw her were suspicions were correct, as the green ranger was on the ground, the yellow, pink and blue rangers standing at the steps.

"Hey Nina, wants to go," Kevin says, pushing her forwards into the dojo slightly as she notices her. "You want to spar against Lauren, don't you?"

"Err, sure?" Nina shrugs confused by his abruptness. She had seen Lauren against the Nighlok a couple of days ago but that was in the mega zord. She was still yet to see her fight one on one.

"That would be great," Lauren grins as Mike hands Nina his training sword.

"Good luck," he mutters.

"Thank you?" she replies confused. Just how bad… good, technically, could she be?

"Just letting you know, I'm not quite at my best today," Nina says getting into position. "That Nighlok blast had more of an effect on me than I realised."

"Do you want me to go easy on you?" Lauren asks but Nina laughs, shaking her head.

"No way! I want to see how well I fight on a bad day." Lauren just smiles, before attacking.

* * *

Soon after Nina and Lauren battle (Lauren technically won but when Nina was on the ground, before Lauren could 'perform her finishing move' Nina was actually able to point her sword at Lauren which in an actually fight would be enough for her to get back up) and once they'd showered, it was time for lunch… courtesy of Mia.

"I'm impressed with how well you were able to hold your own," Lauren smiles at Nina as they walk to the kitchen with Emily.

"Thanks, but you were incredible Lauren," Nina says.

"She's right," Emily says as they enter the kitchen. "Yeah, it seems like you must've trained day and night."

"That's not too far from the truth," the female red ranger replies taking a seat at the table. They all pretend not to notice the empty chairs.

"But I bet," Mike whispers, leaning over to her. "Nothing could have prepared you for this." Lauren furrows her brow, clearly confused as Mia turns around.

"Lunch is ready," she says, giving plates to Emily and Lauren, before turning to grab so more plates for the others.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Lauren takes a bite, and after a few chews her eyes widen before she digs in.

"Mmm!" She sighs, Nina looking around at the others, very confused, Mike violently recoiling from a piece of chicken (Nina's actually not too sure what it is).

"So, Lauren, you say you trained day and night," Kevin says, trying to make conversation to avoid eating. "Right?"

"Yeah," she says, taking another bite. "I mean, that's my life. I practice the sealing power, I exercise, I train. This tastes great!" Nina just eyes her plate confused, before noticing the smoke coming from the oven, only slightly alarming her.

"So, what do you do for fun?" Mike asks. "Do you go to the movies? Or go dancing?"

She shakes her head, "I train."

"Do you ever go out to eat?" Emily asks, hiding a piece of food in her napkin as Mia's back is turned.

She shakes her head again, "No, but I bet you don't either with Mia cooking." Mia comes and places the pot in front of her. "This is so good!" She exclaims happily, taking another large spoonful out of the pot onto her plate.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Mike mutters. However, just as he goes to put a bite in his mouth, the gap sensor sounds.

"Not a moment too soon," Mike says, spitting out his food and jumping up.

"I was really starting to enjoy this," Lauren sighs.

"It'll keep," Mia smiles, taking the pot away to put it in the fridge. "We'll have leftovers for later." Lauren grins widely before running to the living room with the others. Tapping the table to open the map they see where they're going.

"Corner of Fifth and Roslyn. Come on," Lauren says but Emily hesitates.

"I hope Jayden's okay," she sighs before catching up with the others.

* * *

"Nighlok!" Lauren calls as they arrive. They see Antonio demorphed on the ground, but he smiles, when he sees them. "Back off."

"Go, go samurai!"

"Oh, colour coded target practice!" The Nighlok exclaims happily before diving into the centre of the battle and it's soon obvious just how much stronger the Nighlok is than others they've faced before. Soon enough, Lauren is forced to enter super samurai mode and when she manages to knock down the Nighlok, it gives the other rangers just the opening they need to use their quintuple slash before Lauren uses the bullzooka to take it out for good… until it comes back in mega mode. The rangers decide to form the Battlewing megazord which they use to take him out until…

"A third life?" Kevin exclaims.

"He must be channelling something from the netherworld," Nina pants.

"Whatever it is, it's making him way too powerful," Mike says.

"There's only one thing that will stop him now," Emily says.

"Right," Lauren agrees, pulling out a disc for them to form the samurai gigazord. "This is our last chance I need everyone's symbol power now!"

"Dragon symbol power! Swordfish symbol power!" Kevin says, drawing his symbols out. Next in Mia.

"Turtle symbol power!" Then Mike.

"Bear symbol power! Beatle symbol power!"

"Ape symbol power!" Emily says, followed by Nina.

"Wolf symbol power!"

"Bull, lion and tiger symbol power!" Lauren calls finally.

"Symbol power!" They all say together. "Mega strike!" They yell, taking out the Nighlok once and for all and this time, it doesn't come back.

"Samurai rangers, victory is ours," Lauren announces.

* * *

Arriving home, however, they see Mentor sitting sadly with Antonio, both of them quite dirty.

"What happened?" Nina asked, being the first to enter. "Are you guys, okay?" And when both men nod, Lauren asks.

"Did you find my brother?" This time it's only mentor who nods.

"Yes, he's fighting Deker."

"Of course, he is," Nina scoffs. The room is silent enough to hear a pin drop. The rangers can't believe it's actually finally happening but at the same time, each of them knew that it was going to happen sooner rather than later.

"We have to go stop them," Mike says.

"You can't stop this. I've already tried," Ji tells them.

"Well, I'm going to," but as Antonio begins standing up, it's clear just how much pain he's in.

"No," Emily warns. "You need to stay and rest."

"We'll take care of it," Mia adds as the rangers begin running out, but Lauren, Kevin and Nina don't move.

"Kevin, Nina, come on let's go," Mike says.

"We're going to stay with Lauren," Kevin says, looking at Nina who nods. "We need to divide and conquer in case there's another Nighlok attack. I hate to split up the team, but this way Lauren can continue mastering the sealing power while you help Jayden."

"We understand," Mia nods.

"Don't worry," Mike says. "We'll get him back here safely."

* * *

"Kevin, if you need to go and be with the others, I understand," Lauren says, noticing him staring at an original samurai suit in the hall. "You guys are more than just samurai. You're friends. I hear you and Mia are a bit more than that too."

Kevin smiles, "Thank you, Lauren. I know you can handle yourself but… as a samurai… my duty is to protect the entire city from evil. Not just my friends. Don't worry about me."

"You're all very lucky to have each other," she smiles. "I've never had a good friend."

Kevin takes a few step forwards, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Now you do." Lauren just smiles at him. "Now, let's go train."

Changing into his gear, Kevin steps out into the dojo finding Nina there.

"Want a partner?"

"Of course," the purple ranger grins as he steps up. "I heard what you said to Lauren by the way. It was really sweet."

"It was the truth," he replies. "Oh, and I'm just warning you, I won't hold back," he says.

"Good," Nina smirks. "It'll be more fun taking you down that way." Kevin rolls his eyes as he gets into position.

* * *

After a while, the duo outside begin to get hungry so they decide to take a break, heading inside. On Nina's way to her room though, she hears laugher, and peaking around a corner, she sees Lauren and Antonio in the indoor dojo. Antonio sitting on the steps and Lauren in her training gear, standing with her practice sword. She'd seen Antonio walk over once Shaylee had finished patching him up, but she had to admit she was slightly surprised to still find him there. She was glad they were getting along though. She moved along quickly though as her stomach began to complain and after a shower and change of clothes, she found herself in the kitchen with Shaylee and Kevin.

"Kevin," Lauren says, finding the three of them in the kitchen with Nina.

"Lauren, what do you need?" He asks, putting down his cup of water.

"What I need is for you and Shaylee to go with Mike and the others."

"What? No. I need to protect you and the city while you perfect the sealing power."

"And I need to be here in case of you gets hurt. And Antonio is still recovering," Shaylee points out.

"Your dedication is admirable, but it is okay. I can take care of myself and even then, I'll still have Nina."

"She's right. As much as I want to go, I can't. I have a task to do here right now," Nina says, thinking back to her letter from the previous generations' red ranger. "But Kevin, there's no attack right now, so you don't and Shaylee, Antonio's fine now. Jayden… will need your help."

"Besides, I'm worried about Jayden too. He's my brother," Lauren reminds him to which he sighs. "I'll stay here in case there's a Nighlok attack, but you guys should go."

"But- "

"Kevin, Shaylee, Jayden needs you both now. Far more than I do. I can feel it, so go to him. Please,"

"Alright, we're going," he nods, heading for the doorway with the assistant mentor. "And Lauren, thanks."

* * *

Nina had just lit the candle that Kendall got her for Christmas (she was so shocked that there was even still wax left considering how often she felt like she used it especially recently) because she absolutely loved the smell… and today was the sixteen of April. Big Time Rush were back from their tour today. Nina shocked herself with how excited she was that they were finally back because she'd really missed them… especially Kendall. She didn't know how or when she had but she thinks she'd developed a… she didn't want to think it! She wasn't even supposed to be seeing him as often as she had been but… now wasn't the time to be think about that. She had other things to think about like –

"Help me," a male voice says but whipping her head around to check her surroundings Nina sees that it is just her. "Please help me." Was this a vision? Nina wondered so closing her eyes, she took a deep inhale but as she exhaled and opened her eyes, it was no longer her room she was seeing. Instead, before her was a burning building and in front of it was a woman, covered in ash, cradling the body of a man. However, just as she begins to run forwards to help, she hears the voice again, although this time, it is actually from behind her.

"Please, help me. I don't want to kill him," he pleads and turning, she recognises the man immediately. "I want just to be free." Deker.

"Kill who?" She asks, before it dawns on her. "Jayden? Deker, no. What can I do?"

"I don't know," he replies, shaking his head.

"Okay," Nina sighs, looking around. She's wouldn't be here if there was nothing she could do. "What is this? Who are those people?"

"We were supposed to live in that house," he points at the burning building. "My wife Dahlia and me. It caught fire during the night and I… I don't know. She pulled me out, but I think she was too late."

"That's you? The man she's holding, is you?" she asks, and he nods.

"She cried out for help," and as she speaks, the scene before them seems to progress, Dahlia's lips moving, although without the sound. "And that when a beast calling himself the king of Nighlok's answered."

"Xandred?" Nina questions but that's not the Nighlok that appears.

"Serrator," Deker corrects. "He offered to save my life and my wife loved me as much as I did her so she accepted but to do so, he transformed me into the human-Nighlok hybrid, taking all my memories away from my conscious mind, transforming Dahlia into one of the Nighlok too in the process."

"Dahlia's Dayu?" Nina gasps, seeing his wife transform.

"Yes. Because of our love, I don't think she fully comprehended the fate she was cursing us both to. She remembers it all while I'm left, trapped in this cursed body with the need to fight. Not quite human, not quite Nighlok, fitting in nowhere. All I've ever wanted was to be free." And just like that, it's like neon signs flashing in Nina's head. _Free. Trapped. Free. _

"Of course," she mutters, turning to the Nighlok hybrid. "Deker, I know how to help you. I can free you. But you're gonna have to trust me."

Deker nods, locking his eyes with hers. "I will."

"I – I should let you know though," Nina says. "Your Nighlok half is what's keeping you alive."

"Do what you have to do." The purple rangers take a deep breath, pulling out her morpher.

"You have to transform into your Nighlok form." Once Deker's done so she opens the morpher, raising it as she steps closer. "I hope this doesn't hurt." She begins drawing a symbol lighting up in gold, straight onto his chest. It takes her a bit of time but as she finishes, she whispers, "symbol power, freedom." The golden light from the symbol slowly spreads across his whole body with a shattered effect. He starts flickering between his human and Nighlok forms and as he begins falling, Nina reaches out to catch him guiding him to the ground, holding him up in a slanted seated position. However, looking around Nina realises the scene around her has changed. She's in a ring of fire besides Deker who's sword is raised… to Jayden.

"Jayden, watch out!" Nina hears the other rangers scream, and looking to her left, just outside the ring of fire is the pink, green and yellow rangers (it's clear they can't see her though). It looks as though, if the other two hadn't been holding her back, Emily would've jumped through the fire without a second thought. However, just before Deker can strike, the Nighlok drops his sword, falling to his knees and Nina's scene switches again. She back in front of the burning building, and the cracks of light on Deker glow so bright that she has to turn away but when she turns back, the flickering has stopped. It's human. Fully human. Then she's back in the ring of fire just as the blue ranger arrives but strangely enough, that's not her concern. Her concern is lying on the ground, his human form and Nina knows, now, that's his only form. At first, it looks as though, he's staring at Jayden but when he begins to speak, it's clear he's looking at her.

"Chosen one," he mutters. "You've freed me. I'm free at last."

"I'm sorry, Serrator cursed you to this," Nina says, kneeling down.

"No matter. It's been done. Although, it's a shame we couldn't have fought on the same side. I think we could've been good allies."

Nina can't help but chuckle at that. "You know what, if you weren't constantly trying to fight Jayden, I think we could've." Deker smiles weakly at this. "Purple ranger, thank you."

"My name's Nina," she says, and his head shifts slightly on the ground as he nods, his eyes no longer focusing on her.

"Then thank you, Nina."

"You're welcome," she replies just as Jayden turns, hearing a familiar name. However, it's just as he does that that Deker draws his final breath…and Nina's back in her room.

* * *

"The Marina," Nina tells Lauren and Antonio as they enter the living room the next morning, hearing the gap sensor. The others still hadn't returned.

"Guys, I know this is hard without Jayden, but I really need you for this battle."

"I would be honoured to fight by your side," Antonio says, placing a hand over his heart. "So please, lead me into battle already." Lauren just chuckles while Nina rolls her eyes amused as they run out.

* * *

They arrive, and while Antonio and Lauren enter the claw armour megazord, Nina decides to stay on the ground fighting moogers but there are too many! She doesn't know if she can hold them all off since Lauren has the black box but suddenly the number of moogers surrounding her now long seems so overwhelming and after a moment she realises why.

"I was beginning to wonder whether or not you guys were gonna show up," Nina teases as she spots the other rangers morphed around her… all except Jayden.

"Sorry," Mike replies, although she can practically _hear _his grin. "We wanted to be fashionably late, but we worried whether or not you could handle it."

"Oh, you know I had this under control," Nina grins.

"Yeah, we did," and turning around she sees the un-morphed male red ranger. "But we couldn't let you have all the fun, now could we?"

"I suppose," she begins, pausing for a moment to take out all her surrounding moogers before smiling and facing all the other rangers who have done the same. "the party's more fun with all of you."

_**Yay Jayden's back and chapter twenty-six is what I believe we call, completed! I'm just finishing off writing the final chapter! This is so crazy! I hope you're enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Anyways, I'll see you on Tuesday and thanks for reading **_


	27. House of Honesty

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 27: House of Honesty**

It's only been a couple of days since Jayden returned but while they had a little time for a bit of celebration, that did not mean the Nighlok had let up at all. There had been a new one for the past three days and early this morning had been no difference.

"Man, couldn't this Nighlok have chosen a later time in the day to show up. The sun is literally just rising," Mike yawned.

"I mean, it seems to be the most effective way to get you up in the mornings so I'm not too mad about the time" Nina jokes, clearing a path of moogers before making her way to the Nighlok, Goopertin.

"Ugh, this Nighlok is so slimy!" Nina exclaims as she attacks him with her sword.

"I'm actually just very moisturised," Goopertin corrects as the other rangers, stand before him, the moogers defeated. "This protective layer means I can last longer than the average Nighlok before drying up. Although, you guys seem a bit dry to me." And just like that the Nighlok seems to projectile vomit a clear slime on Nina and Jayden, who violently flinch back and out of the way.

"Eww!" Nina cries.

"That's disgusting!" Jayden yells.

"What's wrong with you?" Mia says, all the rangers disgusted.

"Oh, I can assure you, it's not me something's the matter with," the Nighlok grins. This must've been what happened to all the people who looked wet when the rangers had arrived. "Anyways, I manage to do that to a pretty wide range_r _of people. Do you see what I did there?" The Nighlok cackles but the rangers are too disgusted to find it even remotely funny. "Ugh, you guys are boring! I'm going back to the Sanzu river where my humour is appreciated. Try not to get too emotional," The Nighlok says, disappearing through a gap.

"I need to go shower," Nina sighs, Jayden nodding in agreement as they begin heading back to the house.

* * *

Even after dropping their morph, Nina and Jayden were still soaked in that Nighlok's slime so the shower was straight where they headed. Nina spent a good twenty-five minutes in that shower, trying to get that slime out of her hair and off of… well everywhere. It was disgusting but by the time she entered the living room, her hair still wet, she found everyone already grouped together in there.

"You took your time," Jayden says as she enters but while she thinks he is half teasing, it still kind of annoys her.

"I have more hair than you," she points out, sitting down next to Kevin.

"Right, well, I did some research and figured out what that Nighlok does," Shaylee says, flipping to a bookmarked page in one of the old Nighlok archives. "By covering you in his slime Goopertin, can essentially force any strong emotions, especially ones that will cause problems, to arise in a person causing them to do or say things that wouldn't usually and/or don't mean."

"What do you mean?" Mia asks.

"Um, say for example, if Nina got a job promotion and Jayden wanted it, while usually he would be happy for her, any bitterness he feels would be amplified while any happiness or pride Nina feels would be just because it will upset Jayden more."

"Okay, yeah I can feel it a bit actually," Jayden admits.

"Really?" Nina asks. "I think I'm actually alright at the moment."

"Please," Jayden scoffs, "If I'm feeling it, you definitely are too." Nina just gives him a dirty look,

"Or maybe you're just – oh okay, yeah I see what you mean," Nina says wide eyed as she realises what she was about to say.

"Yeah," Shaylee says, slightly on edge now. "It's takes a couple of hours for it to reach its worst, so we've just got to be careful or try to defeat the Nighlok before then."

"Right, that's a lot easier said than done," Lauren sighs. "But until then, Jayden, Nina, try not to offend anyone."

"Yeah, I'm not the one you have to tell twice," Nina says, before raising a hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Jayden says. "If you didn't say it, I probably would've."

* * *

The past hour hadn't been Nina or Jayden's greatest. The strangest thing was though, they seemed to annoy each other so much more than the others did. For example, when Jayden had almost bumped into Nina, she started having a go at him for getting in her while naturally got him riled up too however when Mike had actually bumped into her, she was able to simply brush it off. And when Nina had been tapping her fingers on the table, he had practically yelled at her to stop but when Mia had done the same thing later, nothing. They didn't know what it was, but they just seemed to be annoying each other the most which was so strange considering how well they usually got on. It only got worse when the gap sensor rang though.

"There's disturbance at park avenue," Nina says, reading the map.

"Yeah, we can see," Jayden replies.

"I'm just-" Nina starts but Lauren interrupts.

"You guys can do this later. We have to go check this out."

* * *

Arriving at the location, the rangers see that it is luckily just moogers. However, the group dynamic was very out of balance though due to Nina and Jayden.

"Nina, Jayden, focus," Lauren says.

"Well, if Nina could handle her own moogers, we wouldn't have a problem," Jayden replies but Nina just scoffs,

"Are you kidding? I've practically dealt with double the amount you have so forgive me for making you do your job!"

"You're doing my job?!" Jayden exclaims, slashing a group of moogers out of the way so he's facing Nina.

"Yeah," she shrugs, destroying the moogers, immediately around her. "And I _love_ to break it to you but I'm clearly better at it too."

"You're better at it me than this?"

"You guys," Kevin says but they ignore him, caught up in their argument.

"Yeah, I am."

"I'm older than you and I've been doing this longer than you."

"Which makes it so much more satisfying for me and for the record, we've been doing this just as long as each other!"

"Yet I've –"

"Both of you stop!" Lauren yells and the bickering rangers turn to face their leader and looking around, they see the moogers around them are all gone. "Do you realise we were just in the middle of a battle? You can explain yourselves once we get back to the house. Let's go."

* * *

The walk home was uncomfortable. Jayden and Nina actively avoided even looking at each other and scowled if they caught the other's gaze. The other rangers didn't even want to speak because that battle had just been awful so once they arrived back, the rangers dispersed except for Lauren, Jayden, Nina and Ji.

"Okay, I get that you guys are being affected by this Nighlok, but do you have any idea how lucky you are that it was just moogers and the area was relatively clear? You guys stopped to argue in the middle of the battle, paying no attention to your surroundings," Lauren scolds. "We had to look out for you guys. Those moogers weren't going to stop just because you're distracted. They used that to their advantage and tried to attack the two of you and they would've if the rest of us weren't paying attention. The two hours isn't quite up so you guys will still get worse and because of that, the two of you are benched."

"What?" The two of them exclaim.

"But-" Nina begins but Lauren raises a hand.

"I'm not changing my mind. Neither of you are coming until that Nighlok is dealt with," Lauren says, walking out.

"This is because-" Jayden begins, turning to Nina but Ji speaks up,

"Both of you stop it right now!" He yells. It's so foreign to here Ji yell in anger, so it takes them both by surprise. "I know it's not intentional, but your constant fighting is affecting your teamwork. I need you guys to try and sort this out."

"Fine," Jayden says, turning to Nina. "Let's be productive. Want to spar?"

"Sure," Nina shrugs. "It'll be fun."

"Be careful," Ji warns.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine," Jayden smirks to which Nina scoffs.

"Oh, you think?" Ji just sighs as the rangers leave to change, still bickering.

* * *

Outside, neither of the rangers were holding back as they fought. The other rangers had taken turns watching the duo, just to ensure they didn't actually hurt each other, especially considering they were actually using their spin swords when they first came out before Lauren forced them to use practice swords. Unfortunately, when the gap sensor rang, it was a reminder to both rangers that they were benched as the team ran out, leaving Shaylee to babysit the two. Knocking down Jayden, Nina smiled, before walking away.

"Where are you going?" Jayden asks, jumping up.

"Well as fun as this was," Nina says, not turning around. "I have to go do some work."

"Sure," Jayden nods. "Go have fun. Do your work so you can go graduate with your fancy little British friends." Nina stops in her tracks, turning around, an eyebrow raised.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he shrugs. "I'm just saying that you can go. There are other members of this team that are actually quite committed and focused on taking down the Nighlok and trapping Master Xandred. But it's fine, you go do your work." Nina mouth drops open.

"Okay, Jayden that's –" Shaylee begins as Nina laughs disbelievingly but Ji places a hand on her shoulder, shocking the assistant mentor. She didn't even realise he was there.

"No, no. I think we should let them do this."

"You think that I'm not committed?" Nina asks. "I work just as hard as anyone else on this team as well as keeping on top of my schoolwork! It is not my fault that I got sent to a school."

"Yeah, well not all of us got the experiences you did!" Jayden yells back. "I have been in this house my whole life! Before you guys came Antonio was my only friend. I didn't get to go to a school, I didn't get to have any of the experiences you had! I had to stay here! Miss out on everything! Training all this time so I could be strong enough to lead all of you until Lauren could master the sealing symbol!"

"Seriously? You're mad at me because I got to do things you didn't? Because you were still home-schooled while I was sent to school and got to make friends? That is not my fault Jayden! Shaylee's still _your _cousin, Lauren's still _your _sister and you're still Jayden Shiba!" Nina yells, walking closer to him. "Everyone you've ever met _knew_ they were meeting Jayden Shiba. I've had to pretend to be Nina Martin, someone _I'm not_, for practically my whole life!" She raises her sword to hit him as she begins to speak but her sword just hits his as he blocks the hit. "_You_ got raised in our house," Block. "_You_ got to keep your name," Block. "_you," _block, "got," block "to," block "stay," block "you!" Nina huffs as she catches her breath. "I had to change my _name_, so no one could link us together. I had to move out of the state, just to be sure our paths didn't cross. So, I wouldn't be able to come back here even if I tried because the last time, I was here I was five years old! I almost completely forgot what this place looked like and this is supposed to be home!" She inhales deeply, realising how loud her voice must be. "Gran sent me to that boarding school so I could make friends. Find another family… because I tried to start finding my way back here. And you know what, they _did_ become part of my family. Then I had to leave them to come here without any explanation which I don't regret but it was one of the hardest things I've _ever_ had to do." Nina knows she's almost on the brink of tears, but she can't stop the words flowing out of her mouth as she tries to blink them back. "But I did it, and I'm here. And I wake up earlier than _everyone else _so I can stay on top of all my work so I can graduate. That's if we even beat Master Xandred on time. Then I also train with the rest of you all day, I help cook, buy groceries then I stay up half the night, going to bed later than you all just so I can do more work and I repeat that cycle almost _everyday_ so don't you _dare _tell I'm not committed!" Nina snarls, throwing her sword to the ground as she storms into the house, ignoring Shaylee and Ji almost bumping into the rangers, who must've just returned from battle.

"Hey-" Mia says but seeing how red in the face the purple ranger is as she tries to shove past them Mike takes a few steps back, grabbing her arm. "Whoa, hey, hey, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Jayden – I just – I can't – ugh!" She groans, throwing her hands up to her face, before pushing them through her face. She's so frustrated, she can't even talk.

"You know what?" he says. "I think I want a pack of gummy bears and you seem like you could use a walk. How about we go 3rd street promenade?" Nina sighs, holding her head in her hands.

"Yeah, sure, okay. I need to shower and change really quick though."

* * *

While the shower had helped calm Nina down quite a bit, as soon as Mike asked her how she was, she just went off. Of course, she couldn't tell him everything that was said but even just repeating that Jayden thought she was committed just sent her off on a new tangent.

"So, what I'm getting from this is that if I bet Kevin that you can take down Jayden, I could make a lot of money?" Mike says, once she finishes speaking. She turns to him, her brow furrowed.

"That really wasn't the focal point of my rant."

"Yeah, I know. I was going to get to that but since you want to jump right into it… did you seriously throw one of the training swords on the ground?" Nina glares at him for a second but then cracks a smile despite herself.

"Mike."

"Those things need to be handled with care," he continues as she pushes him, laughing slightly.

"Shut up."

"Oh, I've been meaning to say. You're so lucky I got you out of there before Mia decided to cook."

"You're telling me! I have some seriously strong emotions about that stuff called food and I don't want to… oh no." Nina mutters, turning around but Mike takes her elbow, spinning her back around.

"What's wrong?" He asks, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

"Kendall's right there and I can't talk to him right now," Nina explains, jutting her head in said boy's direction and looking up, Mike notices the familiar face.

"Oh, the guy that got you the candle? Why not? What did he do?" He asks.

"Nothing. I can't talk to him because of me."

"Why? What did you do?" Nina rolls her eyes at this.

"Nothing. I just can't stop running my mouth and if I see him, I know I'm going to tell him how I feel."

"And how do you feel?" The green ranger asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I like him, Mike but I can't tell him that and considering the fact I didn't mean to tell you that I'm scared of what else I might say if I actually talk to him."

"Well, it's obvious he likes you so if you're worried-"

"Mike that is not the! - Wait, how can you tell he likes me?"

"Nina?" A voice that isn't Mike's says and turning to her right she sees that of course, it's Kendall. "Kendall! Hi!" She smiles.

"Isn't he one of the guys in big time rush?" Mike asks, taking a closer look at the guy before him.

"Oh right, yeah he is. Mike this is Kendall, Kendall, Mike," Nina introduces.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Kendall says.

"Yeah, you too dude, Nina's told-"

"Mike!" She snaps to which he laughs.

"Nothing. She's told us nothing about you. I only recognise you from the wall of poster in her room." "What! No! That is not true!" Nina says, turning to Mike horrified before facing Kendall. "I do not have posters of you in my room."

"I mean I know we're-" Kendall begins but Nina interrupts, blushing,

"Stop! I don't!"

"We're just messing with you Neens. Anyways, I'll leave you guys to talk, I want to go into the arcade," Mike says, and Nina turns to him, confused. She just told him she can't talk to this guy.

"Wait, Mike don't we-" She begins but Mike just brushes it off.

"Don't worry about it. Just meet me there when you're done. It was great meeting you dude."

"Yeah, you too!" Kendall says, fist bumping Mike before he walks away. "Do you actually need to go? It's cool if you do."

"No, no. Don't worry. He'll be mad if I don't let him play at least three games anyways. But forget about him, how are you? How was the tour?" She asks as they begin walking.

"It was amazing! I love travelling the country and it's always great performing with the boys and meeting the fans."

"I'm so glad you fun. What are you doing here though? Don't you have assistants at your beck and call at this point?"

Kendall laughs, "Yeah, because Gustavo would let us have assistants. Anyways, I'm getting supplies."

"Supplies?"

"Me and the guys plan on going camping soon."

"Sounds fun."

"How have you been anyways? I haven't seen you in a little while."

"I know. I've been alright though. Busy but good. I've been wanting to come over. I really wanted to see you." She widens her eyes as she realises what she just said when he looks over at her kind of smiling. "All of you. Katie and I haven't spoken in weeks."

"I wanted to see you too Nina," he says but Nina stops in her tracks.

"I have to go."

"Right now?"

"Not really but yes. I'll see you later," she says walking back to the arcade.

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Mike asks when she finds him.

"Mike, don't make me hate you."

"Did you tell him you like him?"

"Sort of. Not exactly but I think you were right. I think he does like me," she sighs, taking a seat in the game next to him.

"Okay, I don't know if it's a girl thing but when the guy you like likes you back isn't that a good thing?"

"Usually yes but this isn't a girl thing. This is a being a power ranger who likes an unaware, popular civilian thing."

"You don't want him to like you because you're a power ranger?"

"No, I do want him to like me but now I've kind of told him I like him and I'm worried that I have a chance." Mike just tilts his head, looking at her through squinted eyes,

"Nina, none of what you said is usual girl behaviour."

"Well, I'm not exactly a usual girl, now am I?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the house after stormed out, Jayden came back in soon after heading straight to his room to shower. His confrontation with Nina had really got him riled up so he took his time in there, not really wanting to run into her again anytime soon. Soon afterwards though he heard pots and pans in the kitchen. Fearing that Mia was about to cook, he stepped out to intervene, not wanting to offend the pink ranger with what he made but he instead found the yellow ranger.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Oh, hi!" Emily says, jumping slightly at the unexpected guest. "I was just going to make chicken pot pie. My mum sent me the recipe and Mia wanted to try to make it, so I had to make it seem like I really wanted to make it so here I am."

"Good call. How can I help?" Jayden asks.

"Are you sure you're not busy?" Emily says but Jayden shakes his head.

"No, you sacrificed your time to save all of us. It's only fair not to leave you on your own." Emily smiles turning to fridge before holding out the bag of carrots to Jayden.

"Could you dice these please?"

* * *

Cooking with Emily had been a lot more fun than Jayden had expected. They'd just been talking about everything and anything as they cut, rolled and washed. The topic of conversation had started off light as they prepped the food, such as how their days had been, the weather; then it got funny with stories from childhood as they put the ingredients together and built the pie; and then once they put the pie in the oven and were really able to talk, the conversation got heavier, from the previous generation's final battle to how Emily had ended things with Mike.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I mean we're still good friends of course, but it just didn't feel right to lead him on because I started to realise, I had feelings for someone else."

"Emily, look, I really like you," Jayden suddenly blurts. "And I've been wanting to tell you for a while but I figured that I should wait until we finished this whole thing with Xandred but now I have this thing and it's making me say everything and-" she brings her hands up to his neck, pulling him down as she kisses him.

"I really like you, Jayden," she smiles as she pulls away slightly and Jayden can't help but smile at that. However, as they're about to kiss again they hear the timer for the oven go off. "I'll get it." She blushes.

* * *

Nina knows she's being slightly immature, but she can't help avoiding Jayden, and besides, this is something she actually has to do anyways. Nina keeps reminding herself of that on her way to the Palm Woods. As she was walking back to the Shiba house with Mike, he got a call on his samuraizer that Goopertin had returned, however since Nina had been benched she wasn't allowed to help the rangers in battle… but that didn't mean she couldn't help any civilians get away. It wasn't her fault the Nighlok attacked near where she was. However, while she wasn't fighting at the time once she got the civilians to safety, she felt as soon as the rangers had defeated the Nighlok, at least in his regular form and by the time it was time to fight the mega mode, she was able to rush back over to help. While it was great to finally be back into control of her mouth, she could also remember everything she had said to Jayden and Kendall so she figured she might as well deal with the latter first (only partially because she wasn't ready to deal with the former yet) and once she told Mike where she was going she was on her way.

Arriving at the palm woods, Nina headed straight to the front desk, waving at a few people as she walked through. She should _not _be here so regularly that people recognise her enough to wave. Internally sighing, she rang the bell at the desk and Mr Bitters popped out of a back room.

"Nina! The only person who doesn't have to pay me to be nice," he says. "How can I help you? The hockey heads?"

"Of course," Nina nods. She has no idea what she did to get the man literally called 'Bitter' to like her, but she was just going accept it.

"You're lucky. They just got back from their tour few days ago but let me tell you something," he beckons her closer, putting a hand to the side of his mouth as he whispers. "Kendall's ex-girlfriend, Jo, is back."

"Oh," Nina says, slightly taken aback.

"So, you better make your move fast."

"What makes you think I want to make a move?"

"Girl, I have eyes and I've seen the way yours look at him," he replies sassily, causing Nina to raise her eyebrows. "And while Kendall and Jo were pretty happy together before she left and his head is a little frazzled, given how he looks at you too I'd say you have a pretty good shot."

Nina scoffs, smiling nonetheless as she backs away, "I'm going now."

"It's because you know I'm right."

"It's because I'm on a tight schedule."

"Sure," he nods. "Just don't forget to invite me to the wedding."

"Ha, ha." Nina replies, turning around, walking towards the open lift. As the doors begin to close, she hears someone ask her to hold the doors, so she puts out her hand to block doors and as it reopens, she sees a pretty blonde girl entering.

"Thank you," she smiles. "Most people would've gone anyways."

"I hate it when people do that to me," Nina replies.

"By the way, what did you do to Bitters?" She asks.

"What do you mean?"

"I have never seen him be that genuinely nice to anyone. If I'm gonna be living here again you have to tell me your secret. Wait, you didn't drug him, did you?"

Nina laughs, "No. I have no idea. I mean I gave him a cupcake the first time we met. And I got him a gift at Christmas. Oh and I - see now that I'm saying it all out loud, I get it. I would like me too."

The girl laughs, "Yeah, I get that. I got no cupcake or Christmas gift, but I like you already. I'm Jo, by the way." _Kendall's ex! _Nina shouts internally.

"Nina," she smiles, stepping out of the lift. "This is me."

"Right, well hopefully I'll see you around," Jo calls as Nina waves, the door closing which separates them, Nina turning around, walking down the hall until she reaches apartment 2J. Taking a deep breath, she raises her fist, knocking as she exhales of course, the one who opens it is the person she doesn't want to but came to see.

"Nina, hey," Kendall smiles.

"Hey," she replies. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah, of course," he says, stepping back to let her in. "All the guys are out, and my mom forced Katie to go with her to this mother-daughter thing. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she says, leaning on the kitchen island. "Are you?" He takes a seat on the table, opposite her.

"Mostly, yeah? I mean Gustavo's always a headache and a turn of events has made things slightly more complicated for me but I'm not going to bore you with all that."

"Turn of events like Jo coming back?" Nina asks, and Kendall's eyebrows shoot right up.

"Uh… yeah. A bit, yeah."

"I just spoke to her actually. I met her in the lift, but she seems great," Nina says.

"She is," Kendall nods and she hesitates before asking, shyly,

"Do you mind answering why you guys broke up in the first place?"

"Oh right, well, just over a year ago, she got a three-year film contract, but it was in New Zealand. It was a great deal but she wasn't going to leave because of me so I convinced her to take the contract but since we weren't going to be able to see each other for three years, we broke up… and then, a few months later, a superhero saved my sister's life. Then I met her and while she lacked the cape and super suit," Nina rolls her eyes at this. It was only half true. "I realised she's actually still pretty amazing and as elusive as she is, I started having feelings for her and I think she has them for me too."

"Well, you're not wrong," Nina says, not looking straight at him. "I do have feelings for you, but I think you should be with Jo."

"What? Why?"

"Because," she sighs, running a hand through her hair. "Regardless, of how much I like you and really, really do, my life is so complicated, and I can't even tell you about any of it. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be doing this but I don't want to have to lie and keep things from you."

"Nina –"he says standing up, but she shakes her head, walking over to him.

"You were happy with Jo. Be with Jo," she says, standing on her tip toes to kiss his cheek but as she steps back her grabs her hand but before he can say anything she speaks up. "Tell the others I'm sorry I missed them, but I won't be back for a little while." She pulls her hand out of his, letting herself out... she meant it this time. Until this fight with the Nighlok is done, she won't come back.

* * *

Entering the house, Nina knows she should find Jayden, they need to talk. However, she wasn't quite expecting to find him kissing the yellow ranger. Quickly, stepping out of the room to give them some privacy, it's Nina's intention to walk away.

"What?" She hears Jayden ask.

"Did you mean all those things you said about Nina?" Emily asks and Nina can't help but freeze and back up at the mention of her name. He must've told her generally what went down between the two of them. It's silent for a moment before Jayden speaks up again.

"Some of it. Some was just anger."

"I really think you guys should talk."

"Yeah," Nina says standing at the door, making her presence known. "I think so too."

* * *

Strangely enough, the two decide to go back to the location of where their fight had occurred; the outdoor dojo. They were just sitting on the bench though, neither saying anything until Jayden speaks up.

"Mike told me where you went. How did it go?"

"Considering we weren't actually together, it was actually a lot harder than I thought," she laughs, sadly. "But I had to do what had to be done. I shouldn't have gotten caught up in the first place."

"I'm sorry," he says but she shrugs. "It's not your fault. Anyways, I see you finally told Emily," she teases.

"If one good thing came from that Nighlok's jinx it was that." The reminder of the jinx causes them both to fall into silence.

"I'm so sorry," Jayden says.

"I'm sorry too."

"I'm not going to lie to you, some of what I said, I did mean but there were just things I said in anger that I really didn't mean."

"Yeah, me too," she nods. "Honestly, I didn't even realise I was angry at you because most of the time I'm just happy we're back together. Now that I've actually said it though, I guess I genuinely was upset and jealous. You didn't deserve that though. My taking it all out on you. It wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't yours either. It had to happen."

Nina hesitates before asking, "...when you said I wasn't committed? Was that you or just anger?

"That, Nina, was pure anger and jealousy," Jayden says firmly, looking at her straight in the eyes. "I know how committed you are to this team. I know you wake up earlier than us most of the time so you can study and still get to training on time. I see you help the others. Work harder to earn days off. You go way out of your way to help strangers, take Katie for example. You don't tell people the secret, no matter how close you are. You've pretended to be someone you're not for years, went to school, made friends, I know you loved and wanted to tell them the truth but left them as soon as you knew you were needed. You're probably the most committed person on this team Nina. We all know it. I was just angry and jealous and said whatever nonsense came to mind."

"We started so young," Nina whispers. "Lauren was eight when she was essentially wiped off of the face of the earth to learn the sealing power. You were seven when you had to start training protect this whole city, away from everyone. And I was five when I was taken away from everything and everyone, I know myself included. We were we were separated, probably when we needed each other the most. But we knew the fate of the world rested on us. We barely got our childhood. None of us got normal."

"I can't imagine how hard it must have been to leave that school. Just when things were starting to feel normal." Nina laughs at that.

"That school was a lot of things but normal was not one of them. But, yeah, it was one of those things that's practice doesn't always make easier."

"What do you mean?"

"It was the second time I had to leave my family. It's certainly in the top five hardest things I've ever had to do."

"Top five, huh? I bet not recording my bedtime song for you is number one," Jayden teases.

"Actually," Nina laughs. "I'd say that's number five."

"And the other four?"

"Well, I supposed number four would be having to keep secrets and lie to everyone I care about."

"Everyone?" He questions and she nods.

"Everyone." Maybe except Eddie but she can't tell Jayden that which only proves her point.

"Nina if you're talking about Kendall, I knew about that long before today."

"I don't - wait what?" She asks. She hadn't been _that _obvious, had she?

"I knew you were still seeing him and his friends and family. You weren't exactly subtle about it. Besides, I saw the look in your eyes whenever you lit that candle."

"I didn't have a look in my eyes."

"Yes, you did. You have the look now; you're thinking about him!"

"No, I don't! Jayden!" Nina exclaims, blushing as she pushes him for laughing. Once he calms down, she asks, "Why did you let me keep going?"

He shrugs, "I don't know, I mean, a large part of me wanted to tell you to stop as your leader and as your big brother but at the same time… you're my little sister and I saw how happy it made you to see them and you've been through a lot… I couldn't take another person away from you."

Nina gives a small smile, looking down. "Number three," she continues. "Is leaving that school. Like I said before, it was crazy, but I loved it." Jayden just nods. "Number two is becoming Nina Martin. It's been almost thirteen years since I've had to start going by that. That's more than two-thirds of my life but even now I still can't fully accept that as me. And I hate that almost everyone still thinks that it is. Even here. They deserve to know who they're really fighting with."

"They do know," Jayden says but she shakes her head.

"No, they don't. Not yet. Anyways, the number one, hardest thing I've ever had to do was leaving here. Leaving you and Lauren. I've said to myself that if I could change one thing by going back in time it would be that night. I know it's selfish, but I don't think I could do it again."

"I don't think I could've done it," Jayden admits. "But you? You're so much stronger than you think. You would do it. Again, and again. Because you know you'd have to."

"I'm sorry I didn't get to be an annoying little sister," she says after a moment.

Jayden shrugs, "It's okay. You're making up for it now," Nina shoves him again. "Sorry, I didn't get to be an overprotective older brother."

"It's okay," she shrugs. "You're making up for it now."

_**Chapter twenty-seven. Plot. Twist. Maybe? Hopefully! Nina's father is the old red ranger… who's also Lauren and Jayden's father as well as Shaylee's uncle. Yup. That's right. Jayden and Lauren are her older siblings and Shaylee is her cousin! I was gonna have Lauren and Shaylee in the conversation at the end too, but I felt like it worked better with just Nina and Jayden. I felt like I'd made it kind of obvious but then when Lauren arrived and didn't seem to particularly recognise Nina I'd made it seem like they weren't related so when you got to this chapter you'd be all like whoooaa! If that crazy tactic worked let me know! Hmm, when are the other rangers going to find out though? Guess, you'll have to read to find out, although your options really are just next chapter, the next one after that or the one after that! Anyways, I've said too much, so I'll see you on Friday and thanks for reading **_


	28. House of End

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 28: House of End **

It's early the next morning when the rangers are called out to protect the city. Lauren and Antonio take up the megazord, fighting off giant moogers while the other ranger fight on the ground, dealing with the regular moogers besides a cliff near the sea, however Jayden is fighting higher up, away from the others. Luckily, they're able to take out all the moogers easily, but just as they finish something in the air changes.

"Can you guys feel that?" Nina asks.

"Feel what?" Kevin asks as a large wave begins to rise.

"Lots and lots of pure sadness…" she says before gasping. "Oh no! He's coming."

"What? Who?" Mike asks.

"Him," Nina replies, pointing at the shadowy figure appearing out of the wave.

"Oh no!" Mia says.

"I thought he was gone," Emily moans.

"It's Master Xandred!" Kevin gasps.

"Samurai rangers," Master Xandred thunders as the wave clears. "Give up! You have no hope!" He cackles. "Dayu, thanks to you, I'm back! Now the humans' world shall fall to me!"

"You look shocked rangers," Xandred says. "I don't blame you. Now with my renewed power, nothing can stop me!"

"Master Xandred," Dayu sighs, falling in exhaustion.

"Your harmonium brought me back, Dayu. The final tune it played was…powerful."

"My misery did it," Dayu replied. The rangers watched the exchange, confused.

"Your centuries of suffering unleashed all that power and now the Sanzu River is surging. I've never heard you play anything like it."

"I didn't play it for you. I played for Deker," she breathes, laboriously. "This is the end of me, but it is also the end of my sadness. So many years I've held onto my sorrow, but now…" Xandred cuts her off, pulling her to him.

"You should've embraced the Nighlok life," Xandred growled.

"I was never truly a Nighlok," she replied. "My heart remained human."

"Well, perhaps you can still be of use to me."

"Master,"

"Go be with Deker if you like, but part of you will stay with me!" He says and there's a disturbing crunching sound in the air before Dayu disappear, just a flowery shawl left, which Xandred drops. _He absorbed her. _Nina looks around confused. That wasn't one of the rangers' voices. _It's won't work._ Unfortunately, before Nina has time to dwell on the strangely familiar voice, Xandred turns his attention to them.

"Now, as for you samurai rangers," he yells, turning to the rangers. "Where is the red ranger that deceived me all this time? I want him! Red Ranger!"

"Careful, guys," Kevin warns. "Keep your distance."

"Over here," Lauren calls, standing upon a cliff with Antonio. "I am the red ranger and your downfall! Today you will be sealed. Permanently."

"Ha!" Xandred scoffs. "What can a little girl like you do? Today is the end of the rangers."

"The only thing ending is you!" Lauren yells back but it only angers Master Xandred.

"You're a fool!" He yells before quickly sending a blast at them.

"Whoa, watch out!" Xandred fired at them. Antonio pushed her out of the way by jumping with her, landing on the ground, behind a boulder out of sight of Master Xandred. The rangers begin climbing up to join them.

"Lauren!" Mia exclaims.

"I'm fine," she assures them. "Now listen. I'm going to use the sealing symbol against Master Xandred, but it takes time to write, so I need you to keep him busy. Got it?"

"Got it," Emily nods.

"Kevin, take the black box," Lauren says, handing it to him.

"Gladly, thanks," he nods.

"The shark disc," he grins as Lauren hands it to him. "It'll help us cover while you seal Master Xandred."

"Well, well, well," Master Xandred says, finding them, sending a blast from his hand.

"Shark attack mode!" Mike yells and Kevin upgrades into super samurai.

"Whatever happens," Kevin says, "Protect Lauren!"

"Right!" The rangers agree before charging forwards.

"Remember, only Lauren has the power to finish him off." However, Xandred takes them all down as though he's simply swatting a fly!

"I have no business with you small fish!" He laughs before turning to Lauren. "But you…"

"No! Lauren!" The ranger yell, getting up and attacking the Nighlok king! Even the lightzord gets involved as they get knocked down. The rangers keep getting up though, knowing they don't necessarily have to beat him just keep him distracted and away from Lauren long enough, even if it means they just have to keep being hit.

"Pathetic," Xandred mutters as he knocks down the rangers again. "Not today, not ever!" he yells sending a blast at Lauren just as she completes the symbol.

"Samurai symbol power! Seal!" As the symbol goes straight to Xandred, it intercepts the blast rendering it useless just before colliding with Xandred. The force sends him flying back into a wall.

"Yes!" Mike yells.

"It worked!" Antonio grins.

"He's gone!" Mia says, disbelievingly.

"She did it!" Emily cheers.

"Amazing!" Kevin says.

_It's not finished yet. _This time Nina's not shocked because of the voice, although she is still trying to work out exactly who it is. What shocks her is what it's saying… _Nina, he's not gone. _And then who it is.

"Dad?" Nina whispers. She doesn't quite remember his voice, but it sounds too familiar, too much like Jayden not to be.

"What?" Kevin asks, hearing her. _Nina, you must defeat him. _

"No," Nina breathes, refusing to believe it but knowing it's true.

"Nina, what wrong?" Kevin asks, the other rangers now paying attention.

"He's not gone," she says. "The symbol didn't work."

"What? Nina what are you talking about?" Mia says, pointing the smoke. "Look, he's gone!"

"No," Nina says, moving forwards. "Look," she says firmly and as the rangers look on, they hear laugher, just before Master Xandred begins walking towards them again.

"Impossible," Kevin says, shocked.

"Hey, what's with that white patch on his chest? I never saw that before," Antonio points out.

"This is far from over rangers," the Nighlok king smirks.

"I – I don't get it," Mia says.

"You were sealed!" Jayden yells, standing slightly further away on the cliff. Nina hadn't noticed when he'd arrived.

"But no Nighlok can stop the sealing symbol," Lauren says, confused.

"He's not Nighlok," Nina tells them.

"What?" Mike asks, clearly confused. "He's the Nighlok _king_."

"That white patch," she begins. "That's where he absorbed Dayu's human side. He's no longer pure Nighlok… meaning the sealing symbol won't work," Nina spits.

"Look at that! The little ones the smart one! But you left out one bit," Xandred taunts. "Since, I'm no longer pure Nighlok, I don't have to return to the Sanzu river since I won't dry out!"

"How can we stop him now?" Lauren asks but Xandred just laughs,

"You can't!" He sends blasts at them, sending the rangers flying back and Lauren falling off the cliff, demorphing as she lands.

"Lauren!" Jayden exclaims, jumping down from where he is, then running across to stand in front of the team.

"Guys, I've got this," Jayden says. "Symbol power, teleport!"

* * *

"Master Xandred beat us bad," Mike says, the mood in the room sombre. "If the sealing symbol, didn't work, what else can we do?"

"He's immune to the symbol power. He doesn't need Sanzu river water," Mia lists.

"Can he even be beat?" Antonio asks.

Kevin grunts, hitting a punching bag. "We almost had him."

"I feel so sorry for Lauren," Emily says. "She spent her whole life learning the sealing symbol, and it was all for nothing." At that Nina's up, leaving the room, knowing what she has to do.

* * *

Stepping outside with Jayden, the two see Lauren looking up at the sky.

"Lauren, you okay?" Jayden asks and when she doesn't answer they go over to sit either side of her on the bench. The fall from the cliff would've been worse had it not been for her ranger suit, but she had still injured her arm, so she had to wear a sling.

"It's beautiful, isn't it," she says, not looking at them.

"Yeah," he replies, looking up too.

"It kind of reminds you what we're fighting for," she says.

"Lauren…"

"You know what's coming next, don't you? That cloud of sorrow Dayu release probably has the Sanzu river ready to burst. Nothing will stop Master Xandred from sailing his evil ship right into our world. I let everybody down Jayden. You, the rangers and especially dad. I'm handing the leadership of the rangers back to you." She just talks more firmly when Jayden begins to disagree. "I came here to seal Master Xandred but that didn't work. The right thing is for you to lead the team again. You have a great team, Jayden." He can't help but smile at that. He knows it's true. "They need you now. The whole world needs you."

"I'll do my best," Jayden smiles. "It's time to finish what dad started."

"I'll call a meeting right away and tell the others." However, just as the girl begins to stand up, Nina grips her uninjured arm, looking directly at her she says,

"This isn't on you Lauren. You did that symbol perfectly. You didn't let us down."

* * *

Since all the other rangers were already in the living room all Lauren had to do was call Shaylee and Ji.

"Tomorrow, Master Xandred must be stopped," Lauren says, seated on a chair. Jayden standing behind her. "But before then, I have something to say. As you know the sealing symbol failed to stop him. I wasn't able to get the job done. I'm handing the leadership of the team back to Jayden."

"Really?" Mike asks, perking up. Lauren smiles,

"I thought you might like the idea. Jayden is the best chance that we have now."

"Thank you, Lauren," Jayden nods, swapping places with his sister. "Alright, listen up. Master Xandred is more powerful than ever. It appears that he's unbeatable. But I have a plan. We're gonna take him out with brute force." The rangers can't help but snicker as the idea.

"That's your plan?" Mike asks.

"Lauren's attempt to seal master Xandred didn't work but it definitely weakened him. Dayu's human essence many have saved him, but it also created a weak spot that we can exploit. Forget sealing him, it we hit that spot with enough force we'd be able to destroy him."

"Yeah, but we'll need more power," Kevin says. Jayden just looks up at Lauren.

"And you'll have it," Lauren smiles. "Thanks to this."

"The Shiba fire disc."

"I'm too hurt to join you in battle, but I've used every last ounce of my strength to pack that disc with as much symbol power as I could. Hopefully, it'll be enough to help you defeat Master Xandred, once and for all."

"Nice!" Mike grins. "Thanks Lauren, for everything you've done to help us."

"No doubt it'll be a tough battle, but we're a strong team that, when together, can accomplish anything," Jayden says but as everyone cheers, he notices a certain look on Nina's face. He squints, confused, as she notices him looking at her.

"What are you thinking?" He asks her.

"I have a plan that might work better," she replies, catching the attention of everyone.

"Really?" Kevin asks.

"Yeah," she nods, getting up. "Hold on." Going into her room and grabbing three envelopes out of one of her desk drawers, she re-enters the living room and everyone focused on her.

"Since I met you all, I have had to keep a lot of secrets about my life. Some to protect you, some to protect others and some to deceive the Nighlok. I don't have the time to tell you everything now but here's what you need to know, for what I'm about to show you to make sense," she says sitting down. She takes a deep breath before exhaling shakily. "You already, know my mother was the previous purple ranger and she died in the final invasion… but my dad didn't car crash. He died in that battle too and this plan… is actually his," she shows them the envelope. It has the Shiba family crest on it. "The previous red ranger."

"Wait, what?" Antonio says.

"You do realise you said red, right?" Mike says and Nina nods, looking between Jayden, Shaylee and Lauren.

"Yeah. Shaylee's my cousin, Lauren's my big sister and Jayden's my big brother… and my name's not Nina Martin. It's Nina Shiba. I meant to give you guys these earlier but things kept coming up so I'm sorry." She hands Jayden and Lauren each an envelope. "But before you open those, you should read this." She takes out a letter and puts it down on the table, all the rangers taking a look.

"This is dad's writing," Jayden breathes picking up the letter as Nina nods. He begins to read it out aloud.

_Dear Nina,_

_If you're reading this that means Lauren's done it. Your sister has mastered the sealing power so you can finally stop Master Xandred once and for all. Unfortunately, this also means that your mother and I didn't make it. I'm so sorry that we're not there but you're a great kid. All three of you are and I trust that your grandmother, Ji and the guardians did a great job raising you all. However, there are things that even they are unaware of that I must tell you. I couldn't risk anyone finding out, so as of the moment I'm writing this, only your grandmother, mother and I know. While you may understand why Lauren had to be hidden, you may not have fully understood why you had to be too. There is something special about you. And that something gives you a special power that I'm praying you don't have to use, but Xandred is sneaky. It may just be my paranoia, but I fear that he may find a way to evade the sealing power. In the unlikely event that that does occur, not all hope is lost. There is something you can do. Which is why I'm also sorry that you have to keep your identity from your team a little while longer. _

_There have been quite few legends told over generations of a legendary warrior, a chosen warrior that has the power to finally destroy Xandred. I'm sure you remember me telling you the story of the chosen samurai princess. I'm sure when you're reading this it's been quite a few years, so I'll remind you. In short, there was girl from a woman named Amneris' bloodline. The day, month and time she was born were all the same number but while she was a great warrior, her soldiers believed her to be mad as on occasion she would experience fierce visions, to the point she could predict what could happen before it did and it appear she could even speak with the deceased. Her troops feared it would hinder her performance in battle, so when the red waters began gushing into the world, she stayed behind in the castle. However, what her soldiers didn't know is that she had actually had one of her visions about their incoming battle. None of them would return… unless she herself destroyed their foes. Their foes, which we now know as the Nighlok answered to their king, the one the princess knew she had to stop regardless of how unbeatable he appeared to be. The Nighlok King was a source of sadness, darkness and death. This girl, the chosen one, was a source of happiness, light and life. She could overcome it and she did. The details are hazy, but the story is the same across different versions. She took a secret escape through the tunnels of the castle and all the soldiers saw was their princess walk across the field, straight to king and before they could do anything, there was a blinding light and then both her and the Nighlok were simply gone… neither were seen again. _

_I had so hoped it would remain simply a story but even now as I'm writing this, you're only five years old but your birthday is July 7__th__ and you were born at 7am, and tracing back your my lineage, you are from Amneris' bloodline. For so long, I denied the truth but after you told me you'd spoken to your grandfather after he had passed and he told you about his watch (a secret_ _he had only told me)_,_ I realised I had to face reality. You are indeed the chosen one. Xandred knew of my bloodline, hence he wished to destroy me so fervently. If he knew you too were my daughter, he may start to single you out. That is the true reason you had to be taken away, why you had to become someone else._

_As your father, I don't even want you to know this. Some versions say the girl died. Some say the heat from the blast disfigured her so badly she took shelter in a nearby village but fell in love and decided to stay there. Some say she had a protector who brought her back from the brink of death and took her far away from it all. Some end saying, she never returned. Regardless of that, whether or not I'm there, I don't want this to be the end of you. I want to keep this all as far away from you as possible. They only reason you're reading this now is because, right now, the biggest struggle for your five year old self trying to steal enough cookies for you and your siblings without getting caught by your mother (oh yeah, I knew whenever you did but you really thought you were a ninja so I couldn't crush your dreams). You shouldn't have to worry about this all yet. But I'm not just your father, I'm the red ranger too and as you read this, you are the purple ranger. We have a duty to protect this world. If this is how, regardless of how much I want to throw you into a protective bubble away from this all, I have to tell you. And as selfish as this sounds, I have to admit, whether I'm there or not, I don't want you to do it. I want you to have a long and happy life without all of this secrecy and danger… but I know you'll do what's right. I just hope you know I am so proud of you._

_I love you, always and forever,_

_Your father_

"Nina, you can't do that," Lauren says, once Jayden finishes.

"Actually, yeah, I can."

Emily begins, "It's not even clear. It doesn't tell you what you have to do. We can't-"

"It doesn't have to," she shrugs. "I already know. During the vision I had before I woke up from re-aging, I saw flashes of symbols. Random symbols I didn't recognise just flashing periodically throughout it. When I woke up, all I could see was the part that scared me, so I didn't really pay attention to them. As soon as I read that letter, everything came rushing back and I understood it all. I know exactly what I have to do."

"Nina…" Mia says, not quite knowing what to say.

"Nina, I recognise the legend your dad's talking about," Kevin says. "More often than not, it's reported that that girl died."

"Maybe so but every single time, it's reported that it worked." The rangers go quiet at this, not quite knowing how to dispute her. "Guys, I know this is no ideal-"

"Not ideal?" Mike scoffs, standing up. "Nina, you're telling us that you want us to let you take Xandred alone knowing that you will most likely not make it back?"

"No," she sighs. "I'm telling you that I know how to take down Master Xandred, the threat we're called to protect our world from."

"At the cost of your life!"

"One life out of the whole world. I didn't show you this to ask for your permission. I showed you this so when I do it, you're not surprised." As Mike, sits back down, Nina looks around at the rangers who won't look at her. "Listen, it was my _dad _that came up with this plan, _knowing _its own daughter, his youngest child who would have to do it. If there was another way, don't you think he would've found it?"

"She's right," Jayden says speaking for the first time, not looking at her. "My father would never put any of us in harm's way, let alone Nina. If this is what he found… it's the only way."

After letting the rangers know what she had to do there was only one person left she had to tell.

* * *

"Eddie," she grins, seeing his face pop up on her screen. Ji was familiar with story of the chosen one so when Nina had let him know she had to speak with her Osirian he had told her he would make sure the others gave her some privacy. She had emailed her friend letting her know they needed to talk, and he was more than happy to oblige. However, to avoid being caught, they'd agreed that Eddie would only call once he was certain he was alone.

"Nina Shiba, I can't believe it's you."

"Where are you?" She asks, she's pretty sure she recognises the surroundings.

"In the tunnels."

"Sounds comfy," she smiles. "I didn't realise how much I've missed you."

"Oh, I've been aware how much I've missed you. At least, four times a week I suddenly get the urge to jump on to a plane straight back there." Nina laughs at that. "I'm not even kidding. Whenever I go online now, all the ads are about flight from London to Cali. What's been going on?"

"What hasn't been going on? It's been crazy!" Nina tells him everything, like the near misses such as with the Nighlok that took Emily's spirit. The really weird ones, like that bad girl phase with her and Mia. The more recent ones like the one that made her and Jayden word vomit… not Xandred yet. She asks him about Anubis how and he catches her up. How Americans need to stop replacing everyone. That, of course, there's a new mystery. A new shady teacher, Miss Denby, who is actually turns out is posing as her sister, who she put in a mental home. Oh and fun fact, Frobisher was never actually dead, he was entombed and frozen in time in the crypt (which Nina didn't even know existed) but now due to a ceremony going wrong, he's awake and evil and trying to turn everyone into a sinner. Unfortunately, his dad, Victor, Patricia and Fabian had all become sinners but to complete the plan they needed one more and he was worried that they were going to get that final person very soon. They know they've told each other about a lot of this in emails before but it's different when you're able to say it face-to-face (sort of) especially since the emails were pretty general. Anyways, they had more pressing issues…

"Nina?" Eddie asks after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah?" She replies before catching a whiff of smoke. She gasps, turning to her candle. "Oh no!"

"What's wrong?" Eddie asks, suddenly a lot more alert. Nina just remembers just how late it must be for him.

"My candle just ran out of wax," she pouts.

"Does that say United Kingdom?"

"Yeah. It was a Christmas gift from Kendall and it actually smells just like the U.K."

"I take it that you're over Fabian then?" Eddie says, causing Nina to furrow her brow.

"I guess so. Why?"

"You know, you've mentioned Kendall quite a lot," Eddie points out.

"I have?" She questions.

"Yeah, it kinda sounds like you have a crush," he teases, and she rolls her eyes. "That eye roll wasn't a no."

"Yeah, well there's no point in denying it. Especially since I already told him we can't happen."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? I shouldn't have been talking with him so much in the first place. Besides, things are getting even more dangerous now. If the Nighlok found out how close I am to him and his family, they could become targets and get hurt. I can't risk that." Eddie looks down at something before speaking up again,

"How much more dangerous?"

"Dangerous enough that the team know my real name."

"Wait but doesn't that mean Lauren's mastered it." Nina nods. "Then why aren't you more excited that you can trap that pest as soon as he comes out then you can hurry back here?"

"Because, we can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I mean, Dayu's harmonium released enough sadness for Master Xandred to escape and Lauren tried sealing him, but he absorbed Dayu's humanity so he's no longer fully Nighlok."

"Dayu? Is that the one that you said was Deker's wife?"

"Yeah," Nina nods. "Her heart stayed human so when he absorbed her, he took that, so the sealing symbol won't work on him anymore and he doesn't need to go back to the Sanzu river anymore."

"Oh no," he sighs. "How's Lauren taking it?"

"She thinks it's her fault."

"I don't think it's on her," Eddie replies to which Nina smiles sadly, looking down. "So, the Nighlok king is able to enter our world as he pleases, and you're not sure you have a way to stop him."

"I didn't say that." When she doesn't say anything else, Eddie starts to get suspicious.

"Nina, what's your plan?"

"I'm only telling you this because I think because I don't want you to worry too much if you feel anything."

"Feel what? Nina, what's your plan?"

"There's a legend, that essentially states that since I'm the chosen one, I can stop the Nighlok king. The only problem is, in the story, the girl is never seen again."

"Are you kidding me? Your plan is based off of a story where you basically end up dead?"

"Eddie, this was my dad's plan. He wouldn't have even mentioned it if he had had even inkling that there was another way. And even then, I had a vision Eddie. It's real. And I know what to do."

"Nina, this could kill you. I know it could. I can't let you do that," Eddie says but it's clear it's not just her friend she's talking to anymore. It's her Osirian.

"I have to. If this is the only way to not just seal but destroy Master Xandred I have to do it. What are the chances that I'd be a power ranger _and _the chosen one? If that's not a sign that I have to do this then I don't know what is."

"No. I can't let you do this. I'm coming. I'm coming right now," he says and as he does, she can see and hear the movement as stands and picks up his laptop on his side and she knows he's not playing.

"Eddie! Eddie, no! Calm down!"

"Calm down?" He yells.

"Eddie, someone's gonna hear you," she says, and she doesn't know why she whispers on her end.

"I don't care," he hisses. "I'm supposed to _protect _you, not sit back whilst you march to your death."

"It's not certain that I'm going to die."

"I'm sorry but never being heard of again is as good as dead in my books."

"Eddie, we are facing him in less than twelve hours. You wouldn't even make it in time, and you have to deal with what's going on at Anubis House, you know that is just as bad."

"Protecting you is my priority," he stresses.

"And if Ammut is released how will you protect me then?"

"I'll – I – I'm sorry," he sighs, running a hand through his hair. It's gotten darker since Nina last saw him. "The Osirian in me can be very overprotective. I mean, the best friend part of me isn't a fan on the plan either but you're right. I have to stop Ammut from rising."

"What makes you think you're my best friend," Nina teases.

"Well, there's the fact that you told me I am and the fact that only a best friend would be able to see how scared you are, despite your best efforts to seem okay." Nina looks down, playing with her hands as her eyes slowly well up.

"Maybe you're right," she says, trying to blink back the tears before they fall. "You are my best friend."

"And you're mine. Which is how I know that second part is true too." Looking up, biting her bottom lip, as she fiercely wipes away a stray tear.

"I just – I'm gonna do it. Of course, I'm gonna do it. I'm just scared and feel a bit betrayed."

"Betrayed by who?"

"By life," she laughs, pathetically. "It just all seems like a big joke. Ages one to five my life was as normal as life could be when both your parents are power rangers. Then they die. Then I'm taken away from my siblings and my home and I have to live with a different name. Ages five to fifteen I'm home-schooled by my grandmother while training to become a power ranger. Ages fifteen to seventeen I discover I'm this so called chosen one which brings its own troubles and just when things begin to settle down, I become a power ranger. And I had to lie to my team everyday about who I am and then my sister who spent the past twelve year of her life mastering the sealing power finally comes back but when she tries to use it, Master Xandred was one step ahead of us and it doesn't work. Then we find out that it's down to me and the chances of my coming out alive are ten times worse than they were before? And trust me when I say the odds already weren't in our favour. I guess I was just hoping that we would do this and then we would be done. I'd finally get to live without death and fighting constantly looming over my head. It's just frustrating."

"I know. You really drew the short straw," he says.

"You're telling me."

"But Nina you're strong. Like super strong. If anyone's going to kick that ugly butt off the face of the earth _and _come out alive. It'll be you. Besides, if you need some help, just use our mystical connection. I'm sure it'll come in handy."

"I don't think it works that way."

"Sure, it does." Nina just rolls her eyes but can't help but smile.

"If you at any point you need help with Ammut, you know you can do the same."

"Yeah, of course," he nods as she yawns. "I don't want to do this, but you've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow and you need your beauty sleep."

"I could say the same to you."

"Please, I don't need to sleep to look this good." Nina just shakes her head.

"I really do miss you Eddie."

"I miss you too," he says, seriously. "So, if you could hurry up and defeat Xandred that would be great. It'll be nice to suffer through something normal like A level exams together for once."

"As long as you've dealt with Ammut in time, I'll be there."

"I'll hold you to that," he says, pointing at her through the screen.

Nina just smiles, "I'm counting on you to do so."

* * *

Entering the living room, a little while after her talk with Eddie, Nina finds everyone sitting comfortably, wrapped in blankets, ready to sleep. Jayden and Emily are on the large couch, Kevin and Mia on the other end. Mike's sharing a comfy chair with Shaylee. Lauren's lying on the footstools they use as chairs with Antonio sitting on the floor, his head resting on them too. Ji is seated on the other comfy chair but upon seeing Nina he moves to get up but she shakes her head, settling on the floor between Emily and Kevin and lying her head back on the couch as she covers herself with her blanket, shutting her eyes.

* * *

Early the next morning when the gap sensor goes off the rangers, minus Lauren, rush from training to the living room but practically the whole map is flashing.

"The Sanzu river is flooding into our world. Looks like the battle for our world has begun," Ji says, looking around at all the rangers.

"It's time make our stand a defeat Master Xandred for good," Jayden says, before they run out but Lauren catches Nina's arm before she can leave.

"Nina, are you sure you can do this?" Lauren asks.

"Doesn't matter. I'm doing it anyways," Nina replies, not looking at her sister. "Look, Xandred took away your life for absolutely no reason. I'm going to make him pay for that."

* * *

Arriving at the sight of yesterday's battle the rangers see possibly the total of all the moogers they've defeated the past few months _times five _in one place and in the distance, the red waters of the Sanzu River. The rangers are captivated by it for a moment, the calm before the storm.

"Look at them," Antonio gasps.

"This is really it," Mia nods.

"Are you still happy you decided to become a samurai?" Mike asks Antonio, not quite looking away from the moogers.

"Are you serious? Being a ranger is the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn't trade it for anything!" The gold ranger exclaims,

"Me neither."

"I guess I don't have to ask you all if you're ready for this, then," Jayden smiles.

"No," Nina says. "You don't."

"Jayden. As long as you're with us, we're ready for anything," Kevin says.

"Booyah," Mike smirks.

"No matter what we're up against, we're in this together all the way," Emily says. The others nod too, just as the moogers begin making noise, turning to them.

"Looks like they spotted us," Mia says.

"Right," Jayden nods. "Let's do this!" The pull out their morphers out.

"Go, go samurai!" They call. They've known it was going to be intense ever since that first time they saw Master Xandred in the world but actually seeing this and know it was the it… it was an intensity they weren't quite ready for yet.

"Samurai ranger, ready," They each say in turn, starting with Jayden, ending with Nina.

"Rangers together, samurai forever!" They chant, running into battle. Fighting the moogers, the rangers are sure that every last one from the netherworld is here and as annoying as it really is, they figure they may as well use it as their chance to finally wipe them out, once and for all! However, just as they're really getting into battle a giant ship appears, getting beached up on a cliff.

"Rangers!" The voice they knew they'd have to hear eventually, yells. "The hour of your destruction is at hand! Prepare to meet your doom!" Master Xandred jumps down from the ship, landing in the midst of the battlefield.

"Take your best shot, Master Xandred!" Jayden says, the moogers dispersing, allowing the rangers to regroup.

"Oh, we will." And just like that, the moogers block the rangers view of their leader.

"Nina," Jayden says. "That white spot is his only weak spot. Are you ready?" But as he asks, a wave of nerves and déjà vu comes over the purple ranger. She shakes her head,

"No."

"Nina, you've got this," Jayden tells her gently, but she shakes her head.

"No. Something's wrong," she says, being to panic. "Or something's missing. I don't know but it's not going to work. Jayden, I can't do it."

"Hey, hey," Jayden says, placing a hand on her arm. "What's wrong?"

"This was it, Jayden. This was what I saw in that vision when I de-aged. This exact moment," she whispers, as she says it, she sees flashes of what she saw again. The overwhelming moogers, the rising Sanzu river water, Xandred cackling triumphantly, the rangers lying on the ground, demorphed… unmoving... "If I attack now, it won't work in our favour. At all. We have to do something else."

"It's okay. We'll try my way, okay?" She nods; she needs to figure out what's wrong because it can't just be this was the wrong location.

"Okay."

"Guys, slight change in plans. We're going with brute force," Jayden says, and the team just nods already clear on what to do. Nina heads in front, leading, then she's followed by Mia and Emily. Jayden's in the middle, his back protected by Kevin and Mike, who in turn are watched by Antonio. They only had one job; get Jayden to Master Xandred… no matter the cost. While they face hardships and were beaten down, soon enough the path between Jayden and Master Xandred was mooger free.

"My sister couldn't seal you," Jayden says charging towards Xandred. "But I can still destroy you!" and he manages to strike Xandred in the white spot. The rangers cheer once again as Jayden says,

"I knew this was your weak spot!" But Nina can't join the festivities because she hears the voice again. Her dad. _It's still not done. _

"No," Nina cries, it was at least supposed to weaken him.

"I see," Master Xandred says, too calm. "Not a bad strategy red ranger. But it's not that easy to destroy me." He grabs onto Jayden's sword, pulling it out and throwing it away along with Jayden. "You really thought that you could destroy me?"

"This isn't over Xandred!" Jayden yells but just as he raises his sword, the Shiba Fire Disc fall out, broken into pieces.

"No!" Jayden yells.

"The Shiba Fire Disc!" Emily groans.

"Ha! Your one chance to defeat me now lies shattered on the ground. Nether wind!" He says, and an unnaturally powerful gust blows at the rangers. "Flames of the nether world!" And as the fire appears, the rangers de-morph, crying out in pain! "Well? I'm waiting? Beg me to spare you, you worthless rangers."

"No matter what you do to us," Jayden grunts, "we'll never bow to you!"

"Even now, your spirit can't be broken. Perhaps, you just lack the proper incentive. If you won't beg for yourselves, then I'll capture the other red ranger and see if you'll beg to spare her," Xandred taunts. "Maybe even that shiny new assistant that always seems to patch you up."

"No," Jayden mutters, but unconsciousness soon takes over him as it has with the rest of his team.

_**Oh dear. Chapter twenty-eight has not ended on a great note. Master Xandred's back. The sealing symbol didn't work. Nina knows what to do but is missing something. The brute force idea didn't work. What are the rangers going to do? Find out in Tuesday's chapter. Thanks for reading **_


	29. House of Rangers (vol2)

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 29: House of Rangers**

Nina isn't sure how long she lost consciousness for but as she looks around, she sees the other rangers stirring too and the moogers seem to just be waiting for them. She begins forcing herself up off the ground, despite her body saying no. _Her morpher. _It's her dad's voice again. _You need her morpher._

"Lauren's?" Nina whispers, knowing she doesn't really have to say it out loud. Strangely enough, it made her feel _less _crazy when she answered out loud.

"You guys can stand, right?" Jayden asks. _Not mine. _"Cause we have to find a way to stop Master Xandred."

"I was just taking a little siesta," Antonio replies, 'casually' brushing him off as he gets up.

"Me too," Emily huffs, following suit.

"For generations," Kevin says, once everyone is standing, clearly injured but standing, nonetheless. "Our families have waited for this moment."

"What we do today," Jayden tells the team. "Will be remembered forever." _Mine. _Nina gasps surprised by the different voice. It's familiar… kind of like hers but not… who else could it be but her mother?

"Guys," Nina says. "I know what's missing. The thing I need to take down Master Xandred is my mum's morpher." The rangers turn to look at Jayden at that. "Please tell me we have it?"

"We do," Jayden nods. "It's back at the house. Mentor knows where. You call him," he pulls out his spin sword. "We'll take care of this." The other rangers pull out their spin sword too before charging into battle, without morphing. Nina quickly whips out her morpher, wanting to go help her friends.

"Mentor," she says once he answers. "I need my mum's morpher. Jayden said you know where it is."

"I do. I'll bring it. I'll be there soon," he replies so Nina quickly hangs up satisfied before pulling out her spin sword, heading straight for a group of moogers she easily takes down before more appear. If it wasn't such an intense battle, she would be impressed with all the tricks the team's doing, herself included. They're doing flips, back and front, cartwheels, award winning leaps, aerials, everything! It was crazy how far they'd come. It's not too long before Nina notices the sound of a motorbike. Could it really be Mentor already? Kicking a mooger out of the way, she sees that it is and while he may not look it during day to day life, he could definitely still fight which was evident in how he took down the moogers that approached him. Nina quickly noticed that the number of moogers left on the battlefield was quickly dwindling and in a matter of seconds all the moogers were gone, leaving the field clear to get to mentor.

"We kicked those moogers butts!" Mike exclaimed as they regrouped, running over.

"Is everyone alright?" Ji asks, worried by their dishevelled appearances.

"We're fine," Jayden nods.

"Don't worry mentor," Emily says. "You taught us to never give up. We'll beat Master Xandred if it's the last thing we do."

"And after that," Mike adds. "You're gonna teach me something new."

"What's that?" Ji asks.

"To ride your motorcycle."

"Now that scare me more than any Nighlok."

"This is for you," Ji says, walking towards Jayden.

"Another Shiba fire disc?" This worries Nina. Lauren put a lot into that first one and she was still recovering. "But, how could she?"

"She gave it everything she had, but I'm afraid it can only be used one time."

"One time," Jayden mutters. "I'll be sure not to waste it."

"Is Lauren okay?" Nina asks. Ji turns to her and nods.

"She'll be fine. Just tired." Ji, reach into another pocket pulling out a white disc, turning back to Jayden. "This disc belonged to your father. Before his last battle, he asked me to save it for a moment like this. Use it to double your power."

Jayden nods, taking the disc as Ji moves to stand in front of the purple ranger. He pulls out a box from a pouch, holding it slightly closer to himself than to her, not quite giving it to her yet.

"Are you sure you're ready to do this?" He asks her. She knows all the rangers are wondering it too. Of course, being a ranger in itself is dangerous. This particular battle, there was a chance that none of them would return… but what Nina had to, tipping the balance of not coming back (before it was about 50% for all of them but if she did this hers increased to 99% while reducing the others to about 20% since they would still have to face has slightly weaker mega mode) it was different. But to her… it was a no brainer. She puts out her hand and Ji sighs, opening the box. Inside however are two morphers. The first is not unlike Lauren's, the only difference being this one's purple. However, the second one is different, older, much, much, older. It was completely silver, except for the translucent purple symbol drawing tip.

"I was only going to bring this one," he says, pointing to the fully purple one, "But then I remembered that when your mother first joined us, she came with her own morpher, passed down from purple ranger to purple ranger. The one you used to practice with before you joined."

"It's this one," she replies, reaching for her original morpher, picking it up. _You're ready. _

"I'm ready," she nods, this time, the voice being her own.

"Everything rides on this last battle," Jayden says, the rangers knowing where they have to go now.

* * *

"Master Xandred!" Jayden yells at the enter the city centre. There's so much destruction, it's barely recognisable, but all the rangers had to do was follow the screams. Of course, they would lead to the Nighlok.

"Huh?" The Nighlok stops walking, confused as to where the voice was coming from.

"It's time to finish this!" As the smoke clears up and the rangers get closer, it becomes clear who's speaking to him.

"I thought I told you pathetic pests to wait."

"Sorry," Mike apologies, spin sword still in hand, despite not being morphed yet. "We became impatient."

"You will fall, and this world will be protected," Jayden continues.

"Rangers together, samurai forever," the rangers chant, getting into their preferred battle stances.

"Fools," Xandred scoffs. "Forever is shorter than you think. Attack!" As he calls it, the moogers, charge straight into the rangers. Master Xandred tries to walk away however the sight of the Nighlok king trying to escape only causes a boost in adrenaline in the rangers and soon enough the moogers are destroyed.

Jayden calls, pulling out his morpher "Rangers ready."

"Go, go samurai!" the others call following suit. If they were really going to do this – go up against Xandred – they could use the extra protection.

"Rangers you will fall!" Xandred yells, sending a blast at them but the rangers jump back, and attack, surprising Xandred for a moment before he swings into battle, ready. "I've had enough of these games!" He sends another blast of nether wind at them, but they jump out of the way, kneeling down with their morphers out.

"Symbol power," Mia, Antonio and Mike call, writing out their symbol (more accurately typing for Antonio). "Capture!"

"Symbol power, capture," Emily, Kevin and Jayden repeat on the other side, Nina crouched down behind them, ready to strike as soon as they're done. While he tries to block the symbols effect, Xandred is still held captive by them, dropping his sword.

"You think your power symbols can hold me for long?" He taunts as Nina stands up behind her friends, jumping over them to reach the Nighlok.

"Long enough," she replies, drawing out her original morpher, which draws Xandred's attention.

"What's a little girl like you going to do with that?"

"Oh, do you recognise this morpher?"

"Sure, I do. But to you it's just a toy."

"Unless I'm the chosen one, right?" Nina taunts, drawing a glowing symbol on her right hand. _Life._

"You're lying," Xandred snarls.

"You wanna test that theory?"

"The purple ranger was of no threat to me. It was the previous red ranger who had Amneris' blood. I already defeated his daughter."

Nina lets out a laugh, "He had two." Somehow, Nina sees his face change in understanding.

"No!" Xandred yells, struggling against the bounds of the symbols even harder as Nina takes his hand drawing another symbol onto his right palm. _Death._

"No but yes," Nina nods, gripping his hand so the symbols are connected.

"You can't do this. This will destroy you too," Xandred gasps but Nina ignores him, drawing the kanji for _joy _on the back of her hand while drawing the symbol of _sorrow _on to the back of Xandred's. She can't activate it until the boundary symbols are released so she speaks while she waits.

"I know the risks. See when you absorbed Dayu she told you her heart stayed human and you used that to your advantage. However, no matter how much humanity you absorb you are Nighlok through and through. No loopholes to get out of this one." She draws the final glowing symbol _to bind_ on his wrist. "Time to see who's stronger." The capture symbols drop but before Xandred can react Nina activates the symbols, both of them immediately held in place, neither able to let go as a bright light emitting from Nina, while darkness emits from Xandred and Nina knows the others can no longer see what's going on. Nina doesn't quite know how to describe exactly what's going on. Where their hands are joined, she can feel a sort of tingle as he tries to force his darkness onto her, but she pushes back, refusing to let him win. They're at this standstill for a few minutes, neither willing to give in but then Nina feels Xandred's power crawling up her wrist, her veins turning black and it begins to drain her.

"You think you can beat me?" Xandred growls. "Let's see how confident you are in my domain." He grips her hand tighter and Nina just feels a strange sensation of passing through cold water, although she knows she's dry, but her surroundings have changed. It's strangely familiar… red and humid and…

"We're in the netherworld," she gasps and Xandred laughs.

"Yes. Even if you were strong enough to destroy me, I think this place will get to you first." She can already feel herself getting too warm. Way too hot. But she can't think about that. Breathing heavier, she shuts her eyes and focuses, not on fighting back but everything she's fighting for. For her parents. For the city. For the world. For her team… she thinks back to the letters. The ones she left on her desk for the rangers to find just in case… and the letter from her parents. Not the one she gave to the team but the other one that was in the envelope too.

_Dear Nina, _

_Let me just say, that if you're reading this that means neither your mother or I made it back home and for that I am so sorry. Right now, you're five years old and in bed. Not your bed though. You couldn't sleep and your mother and I were preparing to leave so you're with Jayden who sang you to sleep. However, because of my plan, I suppose he hasn't done so since. I know it's been a while since you've seen any of your siblings, but I'm sure your grandmother has raised a daughter we would be proud of. I wish your mother and I could have done it ourselves but since we can't we figured we'd leave you this, just so you know that our last thoughts were of you, Jayden and Lauren. We wanted a better life for you._

_Your mum and I are writing this letter together so just know this is our wish for you. We want you to be happy. To have moments of joy and laughter even when things are looking down. We want you to be with your siblings. We're so sorry that we had to separate the three of you so young, especially when you needed each other. I just hope that by the time you're back together, you're not strangers to each other and you still recognise each other as family. We hope you find a love as deep and as real as ours. Not a fairy tale prince, who's perfect all the time but someone who challenges you, faces obstacles with you, sees you at your best and your worse and decides to be all in anyways. Someone who helps you grow. Someone who loves you and you have no doubt in your heart that it's true. Someone who would move heaven and earth just to see the beautiful smile that we love so much. For you Nina, we want the whole world. _

_I'm sure you understand why we had to do what we did, knowing that we had the three of you kids at home, but I hope you don't resent us for it. You have to know that leaving you guys that night was the hardest thing either of us have ever had to do. The only reason we could was because we knew that if we didn't try to seal Master Xandred away, this world would be too dangerous. He was getting too powerful, too dangerous and the best way for us to protect you was to buy you time to seal away Xandred without us than to stay and comfort you. If I'm being honest though, it was a close call for me. I so badly wanted to stay and given the choice again, I don't know if I could do it but know this, we don't regret our choice. Not when it means that you're all still here. _

_Most importantly, Nina, I want you to know that I love you, _**and I love you**_, more than you could ever know. When I first married your mother, I never thought I could be happier and then you and your brother and sister were born, and you brought a new type of joy into my life that I never knew to be possible. At five years old, we're already proud to be called your parents so we can only imagine how we would feel now. We know you and your team will defeat Xandred and when you do, we hope you finally get to live your life freely, without all the secrecy._

_(By the way, we've written letters for Jayden and Lauren too, but we wanted you to get this first. Just because of the other letter you had to read first. We also thought it would be nice if you could be the one to give it to them. They're together under the loose floorboard in your room – oh yeah. We knew about that)._

_If this is the last thing, you hear from us then let it be this. We, your mum and dad, love you, always and forever._

She feels a relief as the darkness stops climbing up her but instead retreats as she pushes forwards, the light beyond her eyelids getting brighter. Opening her eyes (surprisingly without difficulty due to the light), she sees that not only are they back in the human world but almost all the light from her is gone, instead spilling into Xandred with the light eluding from him in cracks of light. It reminds her of what happened with Deker and as if on cue, she hears his voice, _free him._

"This is impossible!" Xandred yells. Her morpher won't work here, somehow, she knows it… but she doesn't need it. Raising her left hand, she draws the symbol with her finger, straight onto Xandred's chest. _Freedom. _

"No," she huffs. "It's not." As soon as she activates it, the two are blast apart, Nina de-morphed as she slams into a building before landing on the ground, closer to the rangers who rush over to her just as Xandred explodes.

"Nina!" she hears Jayden say and she's pretty sure he's yelling but he sounds pretty quiet and from how close he's getting to her, she's pretty sure he should sound louder. Everything hurts and she's pretty sure she can feel something slowly rolling down her neck.

"It hurts," she grunts, shifting slightly. With a tremendous amount of effort, she raises her hand to the base of her hair line, and it comes away red. "And there's blood in my hair."

"I know," Jayden replies, helping to pull her up so she's resting her head against his chest. "You'll be okay."

"His mega mode," she breathes. "Will… be here soon." But as she's speaking her eyes keep fluttering shut.

"Nina," Mike says but looking up at him, his features are blurry. Wait, maybe it's her eyesight that's blurry. "Nina?"

"Yeah?" She says, blinking a few times, hoping it will help clear her vision a bit and it does but looking around at the rangers, they've all taken off their helmets and she sees tears in their eyes. Why are they upset?

"Nina, no," Jayden whispers and when Nina looks up, she sees tears streaming down his cheeks. "Please don't. Not you." Nina's so lost. What's happened? Why is everyone so upset? She raises a hand up to Jayden's cheek and he places his gloved one over hers as she uses her thumb to wipe away tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I just love you, and I don't like seeing you in pain," he laughs tearily.

Nina smiles, dropping her hand as he presses a kiss into her hair, "I love you too." Is that why they're all sad? Are they emphasising because they think she's in pain? They don't need to worry about that anymore, she reaches for Jayden's hand. "But you don't – you don't need to cry. It doesn't hurt anymore," she sighs and at that Jayden chokes out another cry. Her eyelids are unbelievably heavy; she has to shut them, just for a moment… so she does.

"I can't help it," Jayden says. Why is he so quiet? Nina wonders. "But then again, you've always been stronger than me." Looking down at the girl, Jayden whispers meekly. "Nina." He shakes her gently. "Nina." He says it slightly louder this time but her grip on his hand slackens and he can't help but stare at it as if falls onto her stomach. He's pretty sure he hears as gasp and movement from the other rangers, but he can't focus on them. "Nina?" He asks, his voice breaking. He feels her take a breath… and another… and another and… "No." Nothing. "No," he says, shaking her again. "No! Nina, please no!" He cries but the girl in his arms doesn't respond. He buries his face at her neck, holding her head up with his hand. "You can't. You're my baby sister, you can't be gone. Not now. Not like this."

The rangers don't even notice the lightning striking through the sky until an unwelcome voice thunders, "Samurai rangers! Now your world will end! Time to face my wrath!" The Nighlok sends blasts down at them, Jayden shielding his sister with his body as Xandred cackles.

"No Master Xandred!" Jayden replies, laying Nina down, putting on his helmet as he stands up. He looks down at her for a moment before drawing his morpher. He doesn't want to leave her alone but... they can't stay with her. "My sister is dead because of you! It's time for you to face the wrath of the samurai! Black box! Time for one last mega battle!"

"Mega mode power!" The rangers yell, calling their zords. "Ultimate samurai combination. Samurai gigazord! We are untied!" As the rangers enter the megazord, Xandred muses.

"I really should've guessed. You both have the same annoying persistence. In any case, I say good riddance. She was a real ache in the behind." That comment only riles up the rangers more. Unfortunately, slightly blinded by emotion, their random hits aren't exactly doing the job.

* * *

"Eddie?" Nina asks. She has no idea how he's here right now. Did he seriously get on that plane?

"Not quite," he replies and taking a closer look while Nina's sure it is Eddie's body, she realises it's not exactly him.

"You're my Osirian," and he nods. "What are you doing here?"

"Nina," he says kindly. "I don't think you know quite where 'here' is."

"Sure, I do. It's…" But looking around she realises her Osirian's right. She definitely wasn't outside of the Shiba house, her home, two minutes ago. How on earth did she get here? "What happened?"

"You really don't know what happened, do you?" He says and Nina tries to think back. They went into battle, she went against Xandred, he took her to the Netherworld, but she defeated him… and then everyone was crying around her… She claps a hand to her mouth as her jaw drops.

"I died," she breathes. "That's why they were all so upset. I'm actually dead." Just as she feels as though her legs are going to give out, there's a steady arm around her.

"Hey, hey, it's alright. That's why I'm here. I can help," Eddie says.

"Help how? I'm dead."

"Yes, and I'm your Osirian. I'm supposed to protect you and I still can but it's up to you."

"What do you mean?" Nina asks, intrigued.

"I mean, your parents are straight through there," he says, pointing at the gate and looking into the house, Nina's sure she can see movement. "If you'd like, I can leave you to stay with them… but you see that fist that you haven't unclenched since you got here?" She looks down at her left hand and realises he's right. She can suddenly feel the tension in her muscles. "You're still holding onto a bit of life. You gave almost everything to Xandred. But that drop you're holding onto is the only reason I can offer to give you my life force. Enough for you to return to the world."

"Your life force? I can't let you do that; I won't let you die," Nina says, shaking her head but Eddie just laughs.  
"It won't kill me. Trust me, I'll hardly even feel it. Besides, as you recover it'll return to me, but the choice is yours," he says. "Although, I must admit, I would much rather you return. Both as your Osirian and your friend." Nina can't help but laugh; it's Eddie's body but he would never speak like that. She wonders if her Eddie's in there somewhere, just watch it all unfurl. Opening her fist, she realises that the 'drop of life' her Osirian is referring to is even less than that. It's like a speck of light, flickering like a dying bulb in the palm of her hand and one so faint that she only notices it because she's looking for it.

"Then…" Nina says, looking longingly at her house. Her parents are right there. She could see them. She could hear them. She could feel them… but she could do that later. Right now, the team needs her help. "I could use that life force."

* * *

"Take this!" Xandred yells blasting them! "I hate you rangers! I'll take you down if it's the last thing I do!" He blasts them again, this time it's so powerful they fall off their stands in the megazord!

"Xandred's more powerful than ever!" Emily grunts, getting up. "What do we do now?"

"At this rate," Mia begins. "We won't last long."

"I'll try to buy us some time," Kevin says, pulling out his morpher. "Samurai symbol power-"

"Wait," Jayden says, holding out his hand to stop Kevin. "Don't use symbol power yet."

"Why not?"

"We can't use it in small amounts. He'll win that way."

"He's right," The unmorphed purple ranger nods, entering the megazord, shocking everyone, especially Jayden.

"But you – how," he asks, disbelievingly. "How are you here? I saw you – I felt you-" He can't seem to get a full sentence out.

"It's a long story that we don't have time for right now but," she smiles, "I'm gonna be just fine. Let's just deal with the problem at hand," she suggests just as Jayden almost runs over to hug her tight, de-morphing on the way.

"Careful," she warns, only partially joking as she says, "I was just dead. Still very fragile." Kissing her head, he pulls away turning to the team, morale boosted greatly because of the unfallen ranger.

"We have to de-morph and combine every last ounce of our symbol power into one grand strike."

"What?" Antonio asks.

"I was essentially just drained and you guys used loads, capturing Master Xandred. None of us have enough power on our own," Nina explains as Jayden hands her the Shiba fire disc. She looks up at him the question of whether he's sure in her eyes and he just nods.

"We can only beat him as a team," Jayden says, the other rangers de-morphing now as Nina and Jayden walk to their stands.

"One attack?" Mike asks.

"What if we miss?" Mia questions.

"Then we have to get so close that we can't miss."

"We have to do it," Emily nods. "To save the world."

"Sounds risky and dangerous," Antonio says, "Let's do it!"

"Remember, no matter what happens, we cannot retreat! We have to keep going at all cost, even if we only have one zord left. Everything is riding on this one attack."

"Right!" The rangers nod, putting their zords back in their places in succession from Mia to Emily.

"Okay then," Jayden smirks. "Charge!"

"So, you're coming back for more, eh?" Xandred attack them with lightning.

"We just lost three of our zords!" Kevin exclaims, the three going flying off.

"Keep going!" Jayden says. "We still have eight of our zords left." As the megazord moves forwards again Xandred scoffs.

"You just don't know when to quit!" He begins striking them with his large sword, but the rangers continue to charge.

"We'll never quit!" Jayden announces.

"Almost there!" Antonio grunts and Xandred laughs.

"You're making this so easy!" The Nighlok thrust his sword in between some zords of the megazord, making it explode, zords flying off as he pulls it out!

"We've lost more zords!" Kevin cries.

"Destroying you piece by piece," Xandred cackles as Jayden encourages the team.

"Keep going!"

"Are you really that determined to march to your own destruction?" He swings again this time it's their shield that goes flying, which Mia alerts the team of. It's just the original megazord now but there's no matter… they're close enough.

"Okay guys," Jayden begins. "This is it. I just want to say that no red ranger has ever led a better team of samurai. I'm honoured to have fought beside you and to call you my friends."

"I know we all feel the same way," Kevin replies, the other rangers nodding in agreement.

"It all comes down to this," Jayden says. "Now! Use all the symbol power you have left!" They push the sword forwards. "It's go time!" he yells, all the rangers pulling out their swords, Jayden putting the double power disc and Nina puts on the Shiba fire disc.

"Samurai strike!"

"Impossible!" Xandred yells but it's too late. "Samurai rangers! Hear me now! You maybe have won this battle but our quest to rule your world will never end. You may have defeated me but the Nighlok will rise again!" Just as Xandred explodes, the red Sanzu water begin rush back through the gaps.

* * *

As the rangers leave the megazord, they almost immediately fall the ground in the ruins of the city plaza. They all look a mess, Nina the worse of them all.

"Jayden!" They hear and looking up they see their mentor! "Rangers! You did it! The Nighlok are defeated!" The rangers laugh incredulously, for a moment before running to mentor in a group hug of relief.

"I'm so proud of you!"

"Wait," Antonio says, pulling back, resting a hand on Jayden's shoulder. "Say it one last time."

Jayden laughs, "Let's say it together." He puts his hand in the middle, the others putting their hands-on top, Ji included.

"Samurai rangers! Victory is ours!" They cheer although their moment of celebration is cut short by the sound of footsteps. Out of reflex, the rangers get into position but a moment later it's revealed to be a crowd of people, and new crews with microphone and cameras!

"Guys, I think this is it!" They hear a reporter say over the noise of other people talking. "I think this is them! Our cities protector's identities are finally revealed!" The rangers are suddenly overwhelmed, having no idea what to do. They've always been so careful with when they transformed. It figures it would be today they are found out. As microphones and cameras are put in their faces there is one prevailing question.

"Can you confirm that you are in fact these power rangers?"

Suddenly very self conscious and unsure of what to do the rangers look at one another before Ji speaks up proudly, "Yes, these are the power rangers samurai." This causes gasps to sound throughout the crowd.

"And did you do it? Are the attacks finally going to stop?"

"Yes," Ji nods. "They have just destroyed the leader of all these attacks and his minions. They've saved our world." A round of applause sounds throughout the crowd.

"And there you have it," the report smiles, turning back to the camera. "These are not only our city, but our _world's _protectors, the samurai power rangers!"

_**Chapter twenty-freaking-nine! The whole bloody world is going to know in a matter of hours! What are the rangers going to do? Find out in the final chapter on Friday. Thanks for reading **_


	30. House of Us

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, House of Anubis or Big Time Rush**_

**House of Power Rangers**

**Chapter 30: House of Us**

"Hopefully, this time in two days, I'll be able to go grocery shopping without being hounded," Mia sighed. The rangers had practically been held captive at the Shiba house for the past few days. Luckily, where they currently lived wasn't public knowledge but whenever any of them tried to go out, they would be surrounded by people. Everyone just had a lot of questions they wanted answered but the way they were asking was too overwhelming. That was why Mentor had agreed with a popular news agency to arrange for an open panel in the street. The agency had wanted interviews, talk show appearances, a meet and greet and so much more but in all honesty, the rangers just wanted to start experiencing life. What was happening now was crazy! The rangers weren't looking for recognition for what they'd done nor were they looking for fame, but they'd agreed that the best way to get the public off their backs was to give them the answers they were looking for. However, they figured they'd earned themselves a few days to rest especially Nina and of course, those few days were enough for Nina to explain how she was alive so nobody was surprised when they heard her on skype with her Osirian… for the fifth time since that final battle.

"Eddie, I promise you, I'm fine now. Still alive and almost back to normal."

When they'd first gotten back to the house, she was immediately checked by Shaylee but aside from the highly bruised skin, a few minor physical injuries and just generally being drained, she was fine, so she'd gone straight to sleep, exhausted and didn't wake up until late the next day.

"Nina?" Lauren had said, seeing her stirring.

"Hi," she murmured in reply. It wasn't long before the other rangers had rushed in to see her and once she was more awake, she'd explained exactly what had happened between her and Xandred.

"If I'm being honest with you, it was a test of strength."

"What?" Antonio asked. "You're telling me you just had an arm wrestle with Master Xandred, and he just blew up?" Nina rolled her eyes at that.

"Not like that. It was deeper than that," she explained. "Xandred was the king of the Nighlok. He was essentially a source of darkness. He thrived off of death and sorrow. As the chosen one _and _a power ranger, I'm a source of light, life, joy, goodness and that all that fun stuff. By using the symbols to amplify the life and joy in me I could channel that into Xandred so it would overwhelm him but was he never just going to let me do it. I used symbol power to magnify the death and sorrow in him, so it was practically spilling out of him which weakened the barrier between us."

"Meaning his darkness could've just as easily overwhelmed you," Lauren said, realising where her little sister was going. The youngest ranger nodded.

"Especially, since he took me to the Netherworld."

"He what?" Jayden scowled. When Nina and Xandred had disappeared, the rangers had missed the red flash of the gap, due to them already shielding themselves from the bright light emitting from their teammate. So, after seeing the two reappear it was just a relief.

"Yeah. I think that's why what happened the first time. To the girl from the story. There was a bright light, and neither were ever seen again. I think he took her there and even though she'd managed to destroy him… no human can last in the Netherworld for very long."

"Except you apparently," Emily smiles.

"Actually, for a moment there, I thought I wouldn't," she admitted. "I could feel it and I didn't know how to get back… but then I remembered what we were fighting for. And I couldn't let him think he could win. So, I gave it everything. Literally."

"So, when you said you magnified life…," Shaylee trails off as Nina nods.

"Yeah. I was essentially pouring my life into him but I'm not evil and he couldn't take it, then I heard Deker tell me to free him. So, I did and somehow it blasted us back into our world."

"Deker?" Jayden asked. "Actually, now that you mention him, before he was destroyed, I thought he was talking to himself or hallucinating someone but then I was sure I heard him thank _you_. You did something that day, didn't you?"

"I freed him from his Nighlok curse," Nina replied. "He was human. His heart was human."

"But when you did that same to Xandred, his heart was Nighlok."

"Completely. So, it took almost every last drop of my humanity… my life to overpower it. If he hadn't already absorbed Dayu's, I'm not sure whether it would've been enough and…"

"Not only would we have lost you but Xandred would've been roaming the streets freely," Antonio sighed but the purple ranger furrowed her brow.

"What? No," which confused the rangers. "I mean, you're right. I probably wouldn't be here but knowing what my odds were did you really think I wouldn't have a backup in case that happened?"

"Nina, what did you do?" Ji asked, just as confused as the others.

"I bound his life to mine," she stated.

"You did what?" Kevin exclaimed.

"It was just a precaution," she told them. "See if I won and he was destroyed, I would hypothetically be fine but if he had won and I… didn't then he was going down with me. Either way, he was going down."

"The 'I win or no one does' tactic," Mike said causing Nina to laugh.

"I'm a blast at games nights," Nina joked.

"Wait, Nina," Shaylee said, her brow furrowed in thought. "You said you drew the freedom symbol _and then _you were blasted back to our world?" Nina nodded. "Your morpher shouldn't have worked in the Netherworld…"

"I didn't use it," she admitted. "I used my hand."

"You were able to draw a symbol with just your hand?" Emily gasped, and Nina shrugged,

"Yeah."

"In the Netherworld _and _with the literal life being sucked out of you?" Mike added, eyebrows raised high.

"There was a lot at stake. I had a lot of adrenaline." The rangers were in awe.

* * *

When she'd finally been given her laptop, she found she had multiple missed video calls from Eddie and while he was ecstatic to see her alive, he wasn't too thrilled about the whole dying thing. A camera crew had been recorded the battle from a distance and the footage of the fallen purple ranger was exactly what it looked like and while he knew it wasn't true (well, not permanently true) since she'd been up when the mega mode had been defeated, and, oh yeah, he'd technically been the one to save her, it was comforting to hear it from her. He'd been checking in on her twice every day since. Nina was glad to hear he and KT had managed to stop Ammut from rising but the biggest shock had been when they'd turned on the TV the next morning to see their old friend being announced as a power ranger.

Her old email had been flooded although she still hadn't replied to any of them. She hadn't exactly had time to anyways, with all the girls flooding in and out of her room, helping her sort out her outfit for the next day, a decision made by Mia and Shaylee – they'd even managed to get the guys (Ji included) in on it. It was most likely because they needed something to do. Since they couldn't go out and Shaylee had patched everyone up, they didn't really know what to do. The Nighlok were defeated! They were actually gone! They didn't need to train, they didn't have to go out into battle, there weren't any disturbances at the gaps, all they'd been working on their whole lives… they'd done it. Nina had more time to do schoolwork, but the rangers wouldn't let her. She'd more than earned a break and she couldn't continue working while the rest of them celebrated (once she woke up that is).

* * *

The next day, the rangers were up at their usual time but this time it wasn't to train, it was to start getting ready. They had a busy day ahead of them; they had their open panel in the street. It was so strange; as soon as it hit 9:30am they were inside a couple of SUVs being driven to the event. The rangers didn't quite get the big deal. They were just going to answer a few questions for… oh. As they got closer to the venue the rangers couldn't believe their eyes. It was a strange comparison, but Nina was pretty sure that there were more people here than the total collective number of moogers they'd ever faced… and they were all here to see them. Exiting the cars had been crazy! They were shielded by security as a group but the people who caught sight of them began screaming! Arriving backstage, the rangers were already in shock at how many people had shown up.

"I mean, I knew we were awesome, but I didn't realise _everyone _knew," Mike says. "We're usually like a secret type of awesome."

"Guess it's not so secret anymore," Ji shrugs, just as the backstage co-ordinator, Jamie, beckons them forwards.

"Alright guys," she smiles. "It's time to shine. You can probably hear Ian prepping the crowd but it's almost time for you guys to go up. So, he's going to give a slight introduction to each of you before calling out your name which is when you can walk out. You'll be called out in order of your seats."

"You guys, didn't come out here today to listen to me all day so how about we get the team out here?" They hear Ian say though a microphone and the replying applause is thunderous.

"Alright, Shaylee, you're up," Jamie says, as Shaylee walks towards her.

"Okay, first up we have someone who worked behind the scenes but while we didn't see her, you'll soon find out how indisputably essential she is to the team. It's the rangers' assistant mentor, Shaylee Tokuda!" At that the Shaylee begins walking up the stairs onto the stage and the sound of the cheers is crazy.

"Okay next up, we have the guy you need to call if you get lost in the wilderness. It's the green samurai ranger, Mike Fernandez!" Once Mike's goes up and the audience calms down a bit, Ian begins calling up the next ranger. "While this rangers origin story isn't quite as traditional as his teammates, there's no doubt that this guy belongs so give it up for the gold ranger, Antonio Garcia!

"We may not have known about this ranger for quite as long as the others but there is no denying the key part she played in the victory of the rangers ultimate battle. Our female and second red ranger, Lauren Shiba!" Seeing her sister, called up Nina grins, just as she's called forwards by Jamie. She's up next!

"Our next ranger may be the youngest on the team but don't let that fool you into thinking she's any weaker than the others on the team. It's the purple ranger, Nina Shiba!" Nina begins walking up the steps and is in awe at home many she hears, even more so why she sees them. She's sees cameras on her, the live video appearing on the screen. Looking over to see Lauren grinning, Nina can't help but to the same and wave at the crowd as she makes her way over to her seat next to her sister.

"This next ranger is the one we would only catch glimpses of before we met the whole team. It's the male and first red ranger, Jayden Shiba!

"The next lady about to come up is ranger who may not have been training as long as the others but seeing her in battle now, you'd never be able to tell, yellow ranger, Emily Stewart!

"You may be seeing this next ranger is a few years competing in the Olympics and seeing how great a ranger he is, I personally would be afraid to go up against whatever himself into next. It's the blue ranger, Kevin Douglas!

"Our final ranger is someone who while definitely having a maternal gene is clearly not afraid to kick butt if the situation calls for it. Our pink ranger, Mia Watanabe.

"And last but most certainly not least is the man who mentored the red ranger before the whole team, it's Ji Ishikawa." Nina smiles widely as Ji steps up, waving before taking his seat next to Mia.

"This is the team who just saved our world. The Power Ranger Samurai!" At that the crowd erupts in the loudest cheering applause they've done yet. The rangers take the time to really look out into the crowd and see who's there. Strangely enough, they recognise quite a few. People they've rescued, even those two Emily trained in her 'bootcamp'. Evidently, these people recognise them too, a number of them even holding up signs with things like "We 3 the power rangers!", even down to specific colours and names, Ji and Shaylee included.

"Alright, alright," Ian calls to the crowd to get them to settle down. "Before we really get into this, can I just say on behalf of everyone here and everyone watching this, thank you. You risked your lives almost every day to save all of ours and we didn't even know who you were until it was over."

"We appreciate that," Jayden replies, speaking into the microphone on the table in front of him, the other rangers nodding in agreement. "We really do."

"Before we open the panel to the audience questions, we have a few things about the attacks and you guys that I think we would all like to know the answer to."

"Yeah, of course, ask away," Kevin says.

"So, first, what exactly was attacking our world and why?" The rangers look at each other, silently trying to figure out who's going to answer and eventually Mia leans forwards to answer,

"Right, well, in short there is another dimension called the Netherworld where these monsters, called Nighlok, lived. There, there was the Sanzu River, the red waters which began to flood the earth before, and the Nighlok needed those waters to survive since staying in our world for too long meant they would dry out. However, the one most vulnerable to drying out was the Nighlok King, Master Xandred. Most Nighlok could stay in our world for maybe a couple of hours before drying out but Xandred would start drying out immediately and would have to return within less than five minutes. He wanted to invade the human world but in order to do that he would have to raise the Sanzu river high enough to flood the earth to make it hospitable to the Nighlok. The problem was, too much of the Sanzu water is toxic to humans and the only way to make it rise was through human sadness and negative emotions so Xandred sent out other Nighloks, often with special powers, to cause suffering and sadness in order to raise the river."

"Why was the Nighlok king not able to stay in our world for long? What made him more vulnerable than his followers." Ian asks.

"Well, just over a decade ago there was the previous generation of samurai rangers," Lauren explains. "My father, the red ranger had been mastering a sealing symbol to seal away Master Xandred and his Nighlok away forever but Xandred was getting too strong too fast. During their final battle, while he hadn't fully mastered the symbol, he drew it anyways and while it was imperfect, it was powerful enough to weaken Xandred so much that even entering our world would dry him out."

"And these symbols, I think we've seen you draw a few with your morphers before?" Ian asks, slightly impressing the rangers with his knowledge. "How exactly do they work?"

"Well, it takes a lot of hard work and practice to master them," Kevin begins. "They're written in Japanese kanji so every stroke has to be correct and drawn in the correct order so it can be difficult at first. Mike can attest to that."

"Hey man," Mike complains. "They don't need to know about that."

"Hey, it shows growth," Kevin says, in his defence as the crowd laughs at their interaction. "Anyways, once you've got the stroke order down, that becomes the easy part. Drawing symbols for us is sort of like channelling energy from within you and then forcing a physical manifestation. It can be pretty draining so while we could hypothetically teleport everywhere with our symbol power, we don't unless we have to. For example, in battles since we would often need all the power we could get, so we try not to use it unnecessarily but say you have a big walk ahead of you and you want to make a grand entrance, you could conjure up a white horse." Kevin says looking pointedly at Jayden as the rest of the team laugh fondly at the memory.

"That was one time," Jayden chuckles.

"Deker," Nina reminds him.

"Okay, twice," he admits to which the crowd laughs even more. "Wait, do you even know about that?" Nina just grins teasingly as Ian begins to speak again.

"So, you're telling me that if I master these symbols, I could pick up one of your morphers and become a ranger?"

"Not exactly," Ji answers. "See, the rangers have some sort of control over the element. Each of them, well, most of them," Ji corrects, remember the Shiba siblings, "actually about half of them," he re-corrects, remembering Antonio which causes the audience to laugh "have a sole element they have power over and a core energy within them of that element which is passed through their bloodlines. However, without proper training of how to channel that energy from within, it can be difficult to master but the morphers are like a lightning rod, helping the flow of energy with ease. It would be very challenging to learn without that core energy but as Antonio can let you know, not impossible."

"That sounds like it takes a lot of work. It's probably best to leave it for those better suited to the job." Ian says. "I'm not sure whether or not since you've come together, you've paid much attention to the news about you all but there is quite a lot of footage of you guys in battle from a distance."

"Ji and I sometimes watched if we were worried about the rangers or just wanted to see how they were, but they didn't really pay attention to the footage. They usually only checked when we needed to see the numbers of those affected by the attacks," Shaylee explains.

"Well, we put to together a little compilation of your battles, just so we can really see, exactly what you've been up against and protected us from. Why don't we take a look?" And as he finishes speaking, the screens put up around the them and upon poles in the street all switch to the footage. They've partially been avoiding the news because they didn't want to see that final battle again, but they nod as they turn their attention to the screen. They see footage from almost all of their previous battles, some cool, some funny, some brutal. It's interesting seeing how they looked to the public when they were fighting and they had to admit, they're beginning to see why people think they're so cool. However, when it gets to the footage of the final battle and they see Nina on the ground, while they can't hear what they're saying, and they can't clearly see their faces, they know that the scene is exactly what it looks like. Nina… she didn't realise how bad it looked… Jayden… She bites her lip, not realising as she brings her hand up to the scar at the bottom of her hairline until Jayden touches her elbow. Looking over at her brother, she lowers her hand, to her lap as Lauren grabs her other one.

"Are you okay?" he whispers, placing his hand over hers.

Nina nods, "Yeah. Are you?" He gives her a small smile, squeezing her hand, lightly before letting go.

"Yeah." Nina squeezes Lauren's comforting hand too as the video comes to an end. The audience applause as the screen switch back to the panel.

"You guys were amazing out in battles! Of course, you guys have had some close calls and plain good luck but that final battle looked brutal. I understand if you want me to move pass it." Although no one says it, everyone knows that Nina's should be the one to answer.

"No, it's okay. We can answer your questions."

"Right," Ian nods. "So, I take it that big lobster looking mons- Nighlok, was Master Xandred?"

"Yes," Kevin nods. "It was. The Nighlok King."

"How was he in our world for so long? I thought you said he wasn't able to stay for long?"

"For you to really understand it's a bit of a long story but a couple centuries ago, there was a human couple who were newlywed. They just moved into their new home but during the night there was a fire," Nina explained, the story also being new to the others. "The woman, Dahlia, managed to pull out her husband from the burning house but she was too late. She cried out for help in pain and anguish and a Nighlok, Serrator appeared, and if I'm being honest, I'm pretty sure he set the fire. He told her that in exchange for her humanity, he would bring her husband back to life. She was so heartbroken that she accepted the deal. He turned the woman into the Nighlok, Dayu and while he kept his promise and brought her husband back to life, he made him a half-human, half-Nighlok hybrid, Deker." Nina hears the rangers inhale and gasps beside her. It's all beginning to make sense. "The worse part was, he took away his memories so he didn't even remember his wife and all he was left with was the need to be free of his Nighlok half by fighting an opponent his sword deemed worthy and after two hundred years, it finally settled on none other than this red ranger," she explains, patting Jayden's shoulder with just slightly too much aggression. "But long story, short, he was finally set free and faded away but Dayu had just lost the love of her life. She was overwhelmed with sadness and when she released it, it was enough to raise the river high enough for Xandred to enter our world. In her last moments though, Dayu revealed to Master Xandred that while she may look like one of them, her heart was still human. So, he absorbed her and that white patch you saw on his chest, was her humanity, her heart essentially. He was no longer fully Nighlok, so he had didn't have to return to the Sanzu river anymore."

"You know, you could've just said he absorbed a Nighlok's human heart so he didn't have to return to the Netherworld," Mike points out, and Nina leans forwards slightly so she can look him straight in the eyes as she says,

"Shut up." Mike laughs which causes Nina to break her annoyed façade and crack up too. "I wanted to give context. It was a good story." In truth, Nina was trying to delay oncoming question about what had happened to her. She just needed a bit more time to prepare herself.

"It was a good, _long_ story," Ian jokes. "Anyways, moving on, so we saw you guys fight those ugly yellow things,"

"Moogers," Mia corrects.

"Moogers, thank you," Ian nods. "Anyways, you fought them off before going for the big guy. However, I don't think we saw either of the red rangers in that battle. What was going on?"

"I was fighting off some moogers, further up on the cliff," Jayden replies before turning to Lauren.

"I was attempting to draw the sealing symbol," Lauren says. "I'd been learning to master it my whole life and it was finally time for me to seal Xandred away but drawing the symbol took time, so the rangers were holding him off while I drew the symbol… but it didn't work. The symbol would only seal away pure Nighlok but Xandred had just absorbed Dayu's human side he wasn't pure Nighlok anymore, so it didn't work."

"I'm so sorry about that," Ian says, and Lauren nods in appreciation.

"Thank you."

"So Master Xandred went away and you were left without a way to get rid of him," Ian says.

"Not exactly," Nina replies. "We didn't know it yet, but the previous red ranger had a backup plan which he shared with me in a letter."

"Just you?"

"Yeah. I was the only one who could do it after that, but it was dangerous. The others never would've allowed me to do it if I they thought there was another way."

"With all due respect, what was so special about you? Why could it only be you?"

"It's… complicated," Nina says. She doesn't exactly want to announce to the world that she's the chosen one. It caused her enough trouble with just the teachers at her school knowing, she didn't want to imagine what it would be like if the whole world knew.

"That's understandable," Ian nods, realising he should move on. "Well, in the video, after Master Xandred exploded, we see the rangers surrounding you, the red ranger's, holding you… it doesn't look too good. What exactly was happening?"

"I went into that fight, knowing exactly what the consequences could be. I'd accepted that I might not make it back. When I was facing Xandred, in order to beat him, I was essentially pouring my life into him. Which didn't leave me with much in the end. I… it seemed like I wouldn't make it. Xandred came back in the mega mode and the others had to go and fight. There was nothing they could do for me. Xandred's mega mode was coming so they thought had to leave me since I was pretty out of it, but I'm stronger than that," she teases. She didn't think it would do anyone any good to let them know she had in fact, died for a few minutes. Those who needed to know, knew and if they didn't, she'd tell them later.

"She's being modest," Lauren says.

"She essentially kicked Xandred's butt!" Mike exclaims.

"No, I know I won but without Dayu's human side, it might have turned out differently."

"Nina, Dayu's human side or not, I think you could've beat Xandred and he knew it," Ji says.

"Ji's right," Emily nods. "When Nina and Master Xandred disappeared in that video, it was because he took her to the Netherworld. The problem is, our morphers don't work in the Netherworld and even worse, humans can survive there. It takes even short for us to succumb to that place that it did for Xandred to dry out here. That's why he took you to the Netherworld. He was threatened and knew they only way he could even have a shot of beating up was to put you at an unfair disadvantage and the jokes on him because you beat him anyways."

"Nina, you've been holding out on us," Ian says, before Antonio speaks up.

"Oh, and get this! She managed to draw a symbol _in _the Netherworld, _whilst _being drained by Xandred, with only her _hand_. Sure, we can all paint activated symbols but drawing with your hand? That takes crazy power and control."

"Nina, I'm beginning to think you're the strongest of them all."

"She is," Jayden agrees and looking over to her brother, she can see how serious he's being. "She saved us all." And at that the crowd roars.

"Stop! You're making me blush," Nina says, raising her hands to cover her face as she grins. "Besides, we took down Xandred's mega mode as a team."

"Yes, you did," Ian nods. "Even when all that was left was your original megazord, all the other zords you'd gained stripped away, you managed to defeat him as a team in a single strike. You guys truly are amazing!" As the crowd settles again, Ian speaks up again. "Alright, now I don't think you guys really understand how many people are watching. Sure, we have, I don't know, all of California here. But it's not just these people watching. People are livestreaming, not just over the states but across the whole globe; the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands, Hungary, Belize, Italy, Canada, Sweden, Germany, France, Israel, Ukraine, Honduras, Indonesia, Russia and that's just to name a few. People are awake at ungodly hours just to see this. To see you guys. To know about you. I mean, they could watch the reruns but if this works for you then who am I to judge," Ian shrugs. "Anyways, I don't think it's fair for me to keep asking you questions when I'm sure they've got plenty of question they'd like you ask you so here's what we're gonna do. Starting with you Shaylee, we're going to go down the line and we'd just like to know who you are, a bit about you, how you got caught up in the ranger life and a random fun fact. Sound good?" And the crowd cheers, their answer obvious. "Okay then, I'm gonna stop talking. Shaylee, take it away."

"Alright. Hi guys, so as you probably know by now, my name is Shaylee Tokuda. I'm eighteen and the rangers' assistant mentor as well as the red and purple rangers' cousin. You can probably tell from my accent that I wasn't raised here. I was born in Australia, then moved here when I was four. Then I moved back when I was six or seven."

"You were six," Jayden confirmed at the same time as Nina.

"So, I was six," she laughs. "And it was sad at first, leaving my cousins, but I love Australia and it's my home I got over it soon enough. Anyways, I got caught up in the whole ranger business because of both my parents. Our mothers were sisters, but their mum was older, so she was the one who became the purple ranger, but it was actually my dad whose family had been a help of the rangers. He taught me a lot about Nighlok the rangers might face, giving me journals on them as they were ones the previous rangers had faced, and he also taught me how to deal with injuries that come along with being a ranger. When I came, while they already had Ji, they didn't quite have a doctor and that was where I came in. I wasn't there are the beginning, but I came as the battles started getting worse."

"You forgot your fun fact," Mike tells her.

"Right, um, I hold the record for surfing the highest wave by someone under eighteen in Australia."

"No way!" Mike says, to which she nods. "You've gotta to teach me."

"Before or after you learn how to ride a motorbike?"

"At the same time," he laughs before turning to the crowd. "Alright guys, my name Mike Fernandez – "

"It's actually Michael," Nina points out to which Mike leans forwards, this time to glare at her which just makes her laugh.

"As I was saying, my name's _Mike_, I'm nineteen and the green power ranger. That makes my element, the forest. I grew up in Florida before being called here. My dad used to be the green ranger in the previous generation but after the final battle, there weren't any more attacks but he knew they were going to start again eventually so once I turned twelve, I began training to become a Samurai ranger. He always made training after school fun, but he never failed to remind me how serious it was to be a samurai ranger. While I wished I could tell my friends because it was so cool, I knew that keeping it from was for their safety when the time came for me to leave. Oh, and I'm a pretty good skateboarder."

"Okay, so I'm Antonio Garcia, I'm twenty years old and I'm the gold power ranger. See, my 'origin' story isn't quite like the others. I met Jayden when we were eight. We became best friends and used to train together in his front yard but when I was eleven my family and I moved but before I moved, Jayden gave me the Octozord and I promised him I'd be back to fight alongside him as a samurai. I continued to train myself, but I only continued seriously once I turned fifteen because it was a fun distraction from school. Since I'm not of samurai descent, I don't have the core energy they have but I do have mad tech skills. I was able to make my own morpher from a trashed cell phone by reverse engineering the octozord so I could channel symbol power and mastering control of light. And my fun fact is that while I may not hold an official record for my fishing skills, not only can I fish like a pro but the culinary skills that come along with my fishing in award-winning."

"He's not wrong," Lauren agrees. "His cooking is amazing."

"Thanks," Antonio grins.

"Anyways, my name's Lauren Shiba, I'm twenty years old and one the red rangers, making my element fire. My parents were the previous red and purple rangers. Neither of them survived their final battle which meant my father's plan had to be put into motion. The Nighlok didn't know they were married, or that they'd even had children so since I was now the head of the Shiba clan, I was sent away that night when I was eight. I had to be kept a secret from the Nighlok so I could have time to fully master the sealing power, so I started training and was raised in a secret location by the samurai elders. My fun fact is that location is so secret I don't even know where it is."

"Hi guys, my name is Nina Shiba, I'm seventeen and the purple ranger so my element is lightning. So, like Lauren said, our parents, the red and purple rangers didn't make it, so our dad's plan was put into motion. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to leave my siblings that night and move in with my grandmother, my mum's mum, before moving to Ohio. I had to change my name to Nina Martin so when the team did unite and I was with my brother again, no one would know we were related because we couldn't risk the Nighlok finding out. She began training then to become the purple samurai as well as home-schooling me. When I was fifteen, I began missing home and my family a lot more so we decided that I could go to a boarding school in England which was amazing. The school was crazy, but I loved it and everyone I met there became my family. I didn't go back this year though because I had to stay here and fight evil a different kind of evil than exams. It just sucked that I couldn't claim my real name even to this team until about a week ago. I guess a fun fact about me is that because my grandmother home-schooled me for a majority of the time, I'm fluent in French."

"Hi, I'm Jayden Shiba, I'm nineteen and the other red ranger therefore my element is fire. So, my sisters already told you what happened with our parents so when the two of them left, I was left at the house with Ji. When Lauren was sent away to learn the sealing power, it was my job to deceive the Nighlok. I had to become the red ranger in her place so they would think I was the head of the Shiba clan, so Nina had to become the purple ranger in mine. Ji raised me and trained me, and home schooled me so I could become the best red ranger I could be. A fun fact about me, is I'm fluent in Japanese."

"Hi everyone, I'm Emily Stewart, I'm eighteen and the yellow ranger, making my element earth. I wasn't originally supposed to be the yellow ranger. My mum was the previous generation yellow ranger and I have an older sister who had been training to become the yellow ranger. but she fell ill so the task of being the yellow ranger fell to me. It was intimidating at first, but I soon became comfortable having a sword in my hand and now I'm pretty good with."

"You're a lot more than pretty good," Jayden points out. "She's like a machine with a sword in her hand." Emily smiles, blushing at his comment.

"Yeah, I kinda am," she giggles. "Anyways, a fun fact about me is that I can play the flute."

"Hey everyone, my name is Kevin Douglas, I'm nineteen and I'm the blue power ranger, so my element is water. My dad was the blue ranger before me, so as his only child he trained me to become a samurai however I still enjoyed swimming competitively. So, I guess that's my fun fact."

"No!" Mike protests. "We already know that. Give us something else." Kevin rolls his eyes at the green ranger's antics but answers nonetheless,

"Okay. I starred as Hercules in my fifth-grade school production."

"We have to see that!" Antonio exclaims.

"No. Not happening, Mia, go ahead," he says, turning to the pink ranger.

"Right, well, I'm Mia Watanabe, I'm nineteen and the pink ranger so my element is wind. My mum was the pink ranger before me so she along with my grandmother trained me to become a ranger since I'm older than my brother. My fun fact is, I want to learn to cook all different kinds of cuisines."

"Maybe don't go crazy at first though," Kevin says, trying not to make it obvious how even the thought of her food is currently making him sick. "Go in baby steps and focus on one thing at a time."

"That's a good idea," she replies before turning to Ji.

"My name is Ji Ishikawa. I'm the rangers' mentor. I was actually the mentor to the generation before these rangers, advising them on what to do and often helping take care of the Shiba children. However, after the final battle, I knew it wasn't yet over and their parents had trusted me to raise and train their son to be the next leader, the red ranger and I must say, I think I did pretty well. My fun fact is that, despite my age, I am not weak."

"If you were in charge of training these rangers, I wouldn't doubt it for a second," Ian nods. "Alright, everyone, now's the time you've been waiting for. The rangers are now going to answer your question and I believe we already have someone in the crowd with the mic, ready to ask a question."

"Yes," a young boy says from the crowd and once the camera's turn to him, showing his face, Nina recognises him and she's sure the others do to. They looked out for him a little while ago when a Nighlok was talking to him. "I don't know if you remember me-"

"We do," Jayden nods.

"Ryan," Mia says, remembering how her and Kevin staked out his house to prevent the Nighlok from coming back.

"Yeah," the boy gasps, shocked.

"I hope you're still playing baseball," Kevin says.

"I am," he grins and it's the clear the people around him are shocked to see the rangers know who he is.

"I believe you have a question for us?" Nina asks.

"Right, yeah! Mike said he was twelve when he started training so I wanted to ask, when did each of you start training to become rangers?"

"I was twelve as well," Kevin says.

"I was thirteen," Mia replies.

"Technically eight, but seriously, fifteen," Antonio admits.

"I had just turned sixteen," Emily says.

"I started when I was eight," Lauren tells him.

"Seven," Jayden says.

"Man, you guys were old. I was five," Nina says.

"Like actually training, training?" Antonio asks.

"Not with the practice sword immediately but as soon as I was with my gran, yeah."

"Nina, you'd been training for ten years when I started," Emily says causing Nina to laugh.

"That's crazy! That was a really good question though. Thank you, Ryan."

"This question is from Tia, in Canada," Ian says, before turning to his screen to see the question. "This one's for Jayden and it's 'What was it like suddenly living with all of these people?'"

"Oh, that's a good one," Nina says, turning to her brother.

"Honestly, it was so strange just because for the past twelve years it had been me and Ji and then suddenly, I'm living with four strangers. And a half if we included my long-lost baby sister," he says placing a hand on Nina's shoulder. "I'll admit, it took me a little while to be open with them, just because I was so used to doing a lot alone, but we got there and now the idea of living without them seems crazy."

The next question comes from a girl, Myra, in the crowd, "What's are some weird, random or embarrassing nicknames you've had in your life?" Mike starts laughing and all of the rangers begin laugh too, already know what he's thinking of, as he leans forwards, pointing to Nina.

"She called me Mikey boy once and it was just so random."

"I still don't know why I did it. I think I was just in a weird mood. I think I should keep calling you that though."

"You really shouldn't."

"Oh, when we were kids, like before we were spilt up, I used to call Jayden, Jay Jay just because I couldn't Jayden."

"Oh yeah!" Lauren exclaims laughing. "What was it? Oh! Jaygen!"

"It's like the easiest name and I just couldn't say it, but I think I still wanted the two syllables, so it was Jay Jay instead of just Jay."

"Little wolf," Jayden says, pointing at Nina with him thumb. "Everyone used to call her that."

"Yeah, or Wolfie because of the purple zord. And sometimes she would actually howl if you asked her to," Lauren laughs.

"No, I didn't." Nina says, disbelievingly. She does _not _remember doing that.

"Yes, you did," Jayden nods.

"Nina, I think did actually," Emily agrees. "When you were a kid that time, Jayden said something like 'the little wolf can walk' and just did the cutest howl as you toddled over to him."

"What do you mean when she was a kid? I though you didn't meet until you were older," Myra asked.

"About month ago, there was a Nighlok attack but it's power was to de-age one person and it got Nina so she started aging backwards over a couple of days to the point she was like one year old," Emily explains before the next question is asked,

"If you had to pick one, who's the best fighter?"

"Ooh that's hard," Mia says.

"Yeah that's really hard," Antonio agrees.

"I'm gonna have to say it's between my cousins."

"I think it's Nina," Lauren says, shocking to purple ranger.

"Really? I feel like I'm close but it's between you and Jayden."

"No Lauren's right," Jayden says. "Skill wise I'd say we're pretty equal but you're stronger than both of us so if we had to pick a best it would be you."

"So she's your best fighter because she's also the strongest ranger?" Ian asks.

"Absolutely," Ji nods.

"Oh, one hundred percent," Kevin confirms and Nina's awed by the confidence in their voices.

"I'll take it," she shrugs, laughing as Ian asks the next question sent in.

"Living with all these people you must've gotten pretty close and we can all see you guys are really good teammates but are any of you closer than that? Like romantically?" The rangers look around at each other, not knowing who should answer.

"I think I can take this one," Ji says and Nina nods enthusiastically, enjoying how awkward the other rangers are being way too much. "If you exclude myself and Nina, and just look at who everyone is sitting next too, I think you'll find your answer." The following question also comes from online and it's aimed at Nina, "How did you hide who you were for so long? At school and in the team. And was there anyone that just had to share it with?"

"Whoa, that's a lot of questions. Honestly though, at school it was pretty hard because whilst I was pretty real with them with the way I acted, it was just hard knowing that I had to lie to them about who I was and who my parents were especially since I was, - I _am_ so proud of them and what they did. Also because I was home-schooled for so long, I didn't want to start off these new friendships with lies about who I was. In the team though, it was even harder just because Jayden was right there the whole time and at first, I had to act as though he didn't really mean anything to me like that. We had to be really lowkey or be alone if we wanted to be sibling-y or talk about family stuff. Oh, and we had to be careful not to let it slip out if one of us got hurt in battle. And then Shaylee showed up and while we said we were childhood friends I couldn't claim she was my cousin because Antonio already knew her as Jayden's cousin. Then when Lauren came, I thought I'd finally get to tell them to truth but there'd been a change in plans that we didn't know about until that day, well actually, _someone,_" she says looking pointedly at Jayden. "forgot to tell me about it so I didn't know until she'd arrived, and they were emphasising that she was Jayden's sister and I figured that something must've been up, but it was 'dang it. I still can't tell them. I can't act like I know these people.' So, the team really didn't know until the night before that battle against Xandred. As for if there was anyone I just had to tell, yeah there was. But it was literally one person and I had a genuine reason. But now I'm just glad, Nina Martin is officially not me. I mean, I was going by that for so long so if someone does accidently call me that it will probably take me a minute to even realise but my name _is_ Nina Shiba and I'm so glad to finally be going by that."

"For the record, I didn't forget to tell you about Lauren, there was an attack before I could," Jayden points out to which Nina rolls her eyes, smiling anyways as the next question is asked,

"Even though you spent so long apart do you still feel like siblings?"

"Ooh," Nina says, looking between her siblings. "I'm going to say yeah."

"Yeah," Jayden nods.

"It's so crazy because we've been apart for twelve years, but I think it's the fact that in a strange way our experiences were pretty similar that we're still able to work so well."

"Yeah. Like for the most part we were all essentially home schooled and we started training right after that first battle and just knowing that it wasn't forever, we were all coming back together one day really helped."

"Exactly. While we were young when we were separated, we were close. I know twelve years is a long time. We've spent more of our lives separate than together and we've all changed and grown so of course we still have things to learn about each other but there was never a point where I felt like they were total strangers. Slightly unfamiliar, sure but never compete strangers." After answering that question there's another question Ian reads out,

"Lauren, what's one thing you want to do now that you're free?"

"Travel. I've been in that one place for too long, not really having time to have fun so I would like to see what's out there." The next question is from a blonde girl in the crowd who the rangers once again recognise.

"Your name is Amber isn't it?" Nina says, and the girl's jaw drops.

"You remember me?"

"Sure, we do," Antonio nods. "I took you back to your parents. Sorry, you had a question."

"Yeah, it's for you actually. What's your favourite fish to cook?"

"Ooh, right now I'm going to have to say barracuda. My baby barracuda fish kebabs are to die for."

"Nina, I think you're really pretty and really strong so will you marry me?" Is the next question called from the crowd by a boy who's maybe seven as the crowd 'aww's'.

"Aww, I think I'm a bit too old you," she smiles. "But who ends up with you is super lucky! That was such a lovely proposal."

"Shaylee," a man asks, "Do you see yourself ever becoming a doctor?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Helping the rangers has always been my primary focus so I never explored other options, but I might. I realised, while it is stressful, especially with patients who you have to force to rest, not only was I good at it but also I did kind of enjoy it."

"What's a random thing that you've ran out of or lost or broken that you need to repurchase?" Ian reads out.

"Socks," Mike shrugs. "I've practically lost them all."

"I got a candle for as Christmas gift and I loved it, but it ran out of wax about a week ago," Nina says, a slightly tug on her heart as she thinks about who gave it to her.

"Moisturiser," Mia says.

"I think I need a new pair of goggles," Kevin says.

"Tape," Ji nods, making a mental note.

"Plasters," Lauren says.

"Hair bands," Emily grimaces and all the girls nods at that one. The number of hairbands that are probably underneath the outdoor dojo…

"Bait," Antonio replies.

"Lip balm," Shaylee says.

Ji finally replies with, "Ink."

The question after that comes from someone in the crowd, Jordan, "I know a lot of us have been affected by the Nighlok's power but with you guys being in the crossfire, you must've been affected a few times too. Can you tell us what some of the weirdest Nighlok powers you've being affected by are?"

"You know what," Ji says. "Since they brought up Nina de-aging I've been waiting for this question." The rangers laugh before getting down to business. They bring up when Emily's spirit was taken, Jayden losing his memories, when all the rangers except Emily wanted to do was eat until they exploded, when Nina and Mia turned bad, and a range of other instances. They didn't realise how often they were affected.

* * *

The rangers aren't sure how long it's been but looking at where the sun is in the sky, it's been ages and the questions were still coming. They'd been asked about hobbies they plan on picking up with their newfound time, whether Kevin was going back to swimming (he was), what Mia's best meal had been (apparently at some point she had made the rangers lasagne? They had no idea what she was talking about but they nodded along convincingly), whether Mike would visit Australia to surf (he looked at Shaylee when he said he'd have to visit for a bit more than surfing…), how Serena, Emily's sister, was doing (and luckily the answer had been positive. Serena seems to be getting better. While she wasn't quite cured, the treatment was working), how Ji felt when the team first came together to how they are now (while he had hoped, he'd never expected them to work so well together and accomplish so much! He couldn't be prouder.)

"Alright, guys, it's getting late so unfortunately, we are going to have to let the rangers go but we have time for one more question and I think I've found the perfect one to wrap it up. So, rangers, are the attacks over?"

"When Master Xandred took me to the Netherworld, aside the two of us, it was completely empty," Nina says.

"We do believe that we've finally destroyed all the Nighlok," Jayden nods.

"But we will always be ready, just in case," Lauren nods.

"And that is perfect. Before you all leave, I would once again like to say thank you for saving our world."

* * *

Walking down the stairs of the stage, Nina sees there are people being held back by metal barriers and Mia points out that they have posters. With the people thrusting their hands out with pens, the rangers feel bad ignoring them, so they begin to sign the posters. Where they got the pictures is beyond them, but they just accept it as they sign them, even taking a few pictures as they continue to walk down, guarded by security. The idea making Nina laugh; they're the power rangers yet they're the ones being guarded and protected, the irony.

As they make their way over to the cars she scans the crowd, but just as she steps inside she sees Big Time Rush talking with one of the officers, clearly trying to get past as what appears to be fans of them too, surround them.

"I'll be right back," she tells Kevin, stepping out of the car and walking over to the officer.

"Nina," The guys sigh as she arrives.

"Hi, excuse me," she says, tapping one of the guards to get their attention. "Could you let these four through please? They actually are my friends," she says and the guard nods, telling her to step back and after a bit of commotion, the four guys are standing before her.

"Nina!" They cheer, group hugging her.

"Hi," she laughs. "What are you guys doing here?"

"So, you expected us to sit back at home once we found out you're a power ranger?" Carlos exclaims.

"Besides," James says, tapping Kendall on the shoulder. "This guy has something to tell you."

"Well, yeah but I don't think here's the right place," he says and it's a fair point. They're practically yelling so they can hear each other. Getting an idea, Nina leans forwards.

"I can get us out of here."

"Really?" Logan asks.

"Yeah, just wait here a moment," she says, walking back to the car. "Hey guys, I'll meet you back home. I've got something to do first."

"Okay, be careful," Jayden nods and Nina shuts the door, making her way back to the four guys.

"Katie and Mrs Knight didn't come right?" She asks.

"No, they should still be back at the Palm Woods," James says. "Why?"

"I just didn't want to leave them behind," she says pulling out her morpher.

"Is that-" Carlos begins and she nods.

"Yup. Symbol power, teleport."

* * *

Katie and Mrs Knight were in for a bit of a fright when Nina and the guys suddenly appeared behind them out of nowhere. They were happy to see Nina, of course, they congratulated and thanked her for everything she'd done but it wasn't long before the boys ushered them out of the room, leaving Nina and Kendall alone, in the same positions they were in the last time they spoke, Nina leaning against the island, Kendall on the table.

"Hi," she says.

"You're Nina Shiba. The purple power ranger," he nods.

"I am."

"You know, it actually makes a lot of sense," he says. "The sudden leaves, the cryptic explanations, the 'family tradition'."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be honest with you."

"It's alright. I get it. You were protecting us but that's actually not what I wanted to talk to you about." Nina looks down, already knowing what he wanted to talk about. "That was why you asked me to be with Jo wasn't it."

"Yeah. I'm glad you are though. Honestly I –"

"Nina, I'm not with Jo," he chuckles.

"What? Why not?" She asks, ignoring the leap in her chest as he walked closer to her.

"You were right. I was happy with Jo before she left… but she did leave. And sure, it was hard at first but I got over it and then I met you and I fell for you but then Jo came back and my head was all over the place but not because I thought I wanted to get back with her but because I knew I wanted to be with you. I just didn't want to hurt her. Then you came and told me you did like me, but I should be with her, but I couldn't do that. Not her, not to you and not to myself. Luckily though, Katie was listening. She knew I wanted to be with you, and you did too but something was going on which was what we couldn't figure out. Then we saw the fight and reveal on TV and everything you did make sense and basically what I'm trying to say…," he raises a hand to her cheek as he lowers his head slightly. "Is I really like you Nina and I want you to be my girlfriend." Nina couldn't stop her grin from widening as he spoke.

"That was one hell of a speech."

"What can I say? I'm the speech giver in the group," he replies and as Nina wraps her arms around his neck, he rests his forehead on hers.

"And was there a question in there?" She asks, because technically he hadn't asked her.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" He whispers. She nods gently, whispering,

"Yes," as her eyes flutter shut as he leans forwards capturing her lips, however the moment is ruined by the shutter of a camera and pulling away from each other they turn to swirly slide and the bedroom doors, they see all the others watching, Mrs Knight with a camera in her hand.

"Mum!" Kendall groans as Nina blushes, raising a hand to cover her face for a moment in embarrassment but Mrs Knight just shrugs,

"What? You're gonna look back one day and be like 'Man, I wish I had a picture of the time we first kissed' and I'll be here to provide."

"Wait, you guys were whispering towards the end though, so can you just clarify that you are actually a couple?" Katie says.

"Wait, you were listening the whole time?" Kendall asks.

"And watching," Carlos nods.

"Yeah," Logan says. "We left for like ten seconds and when we creeped back out you guys were in your own little world and didn't notice."

"Now answer the question," James snaps. "Are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend?" Kendall looks back at Nina who smiles at him as he takes her hand.

"Yeah," she nods. "Yeah we are. And, since you are all already here, I should let you guys know something."

"What else could there probably be? You're already a power ranger," Carlos says. "Which if I haven't said _is so cool_."

"You have," she laughs. "But actually, I'm going back to England for a few months."

"What? Why?" Katie says.

"I'm technically still enrolled at my school and I've been studying here but since the whole ranger thing is done, I can go back in time for my exam and graduate with my friends."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Well, I leave on Friday and results aren't released until mid-August. The fifteenth I think so I won't be back until after then. The twenty-fourth I believe."

"Friday? That's 3rd May. So, I only have you for six more days?" Kendall asks, doing the math.

"Actually, we have that show on Friday and you Gustavo would never let you leave so technically five," Logan points out.

"You know what? That actually works out pretty well," he sighs.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"Well, our tour was so popular that Griffin got Gustavo to add another two legs to it. One in North and Latin America, the other in Europe and we leave next Wednesday."

"So, when will you be back?"

"Twenty-fourth," he smiles.

"Perfect," Nina replies before laughing. "So, we have five days and then we're not going to see each other for over almost four months? What a great start."

"Hey, we'll make it work. Besides, did you not hear me say Europe? We'll stop by when we're in England but until then, you are going to have the best five days of your life."

"Guys, he's got that look in his eyes again," Carlos mutters and as the others murmur in agreement, Kendall turns to them in confusion.

"Why do you guys keep saying that? I don't have a look."

"Yeah, you do. That's your Nina look," Katie says.

"And that's my cue to leave," Nina chuckles, but as she steps back, Kendall's hand which is still holding hers pulls her back.

"Leave where? We only have five days."

"Exactly. Today's not included. I'll see you tomorrow. My brother will think I've been mobbed if I get back too late."

"I forget you have siblings," he says, shaking his head. "Power ranger siblings."

"Oh, yeah," she nods grinning. "And you don't even know about Eddie."

"Who's Eddie? Is he some sort of super ranger?"

"Worse," she says. "He's my best friend."

* * *

Kendall was right. The past five days had probably been the best of her life so far. She'd woken in her own home as Nina Shiba, with her friends, siblings and cousin around. She'd shared the news of her boyfriend with the team as well as Eddie, who she'd finally introduced to the team via skype. While people still approached her if she went out, they weren't exactly hounding her like they had been before. Neither her or Kendall wanted to go public with their relationship just yet, just because the two of them were already so in the media and they didn't want their every move together being watched so they often stayed in and since Nina was now able to use her phone, they'd exchanged numbers so they plan to meet up. She still had work to go over and unfortunately (yet she supposed it was pretty fortunate) her body was used to waking up at ridiculous times in the morning so she would often do a lot then. She'd also continued to train with the others every now and then, genuinely just for fun. However, even with her newfound hours of the day, Friday had approached a lot quicker than she'd thought. So, before she knew it, all the rangers were in the living room, their luggage packed and at their feet.

"Guys, look at this!" Antonio exclaims, holding up a flyer. "I have scored the golden ticket. An around the world fishing expedition. This is the trip of a lifetime! I'm gonna catch fish nobody's ever heard of! And the company's not going to be too bad either," he grins, slinging an arm around Lauren's shoulder.

"Sounds fishy," Mia says. "In a good way."

"How about you, Mia?" Jayden asks.

"I'm going to the culinary academy," she replies, and Mike looks up, whispering,

"Thank you."

"No comments please," Mia tells him, unimpressed, causing the rangers to laugh.

"I didn't say anything!"

"Well, I can take a hint but I'm gonna study hard so when Antonio comes back with his rare and exotic fish, I'll turn it into a gourmet cuisine."

"Kevin," Jayden says turning to the blue rangers. "Are you going back to the swim team?"

"Well, I just caught up with my coach the other day and I just barely have enough time to train for the Olympic qualifying tournament!" He sighs happily. "It's definitely going to be hard work. But I-"

"But if anyone can do it, you can!" Emily exclaims and the others agree.

"And the culinary academy isn't too far from the pool so I can make you some nutritious meal, so you're recharged and ready," Mia smiles.

"Thank you," Kevin replies. "Shaylee, are you going back to Australia?"

"Not yet," she says. "If I'm gonna teach this guy," she says wrapping an arm around Mike as he slings his over her shoulder, "how to surf, we're going to have to start with the baby waves."

"Baby waves?" Mike says causing the rangers to laugh again.

"What about you, Mikey Boy," Nina teases.

"Please, don't start calling me that," he says shaking his head. "but asides from learning how to surf. I'm going back home. I haven't seen my friends in ages."

"How about you Emily?" Shaylee asks.

"Oh, no major plans. I'm just excited I get to go home and take care of my sister. There's no other plan I'd rather be than home with family," she smiles, and Nina looks over to her brother, knocking her shoulder against his arm.

"And what are you doing?" She says, knowingly.

"Well, for the first time in my life, I'm done with my samurai duties," he says. "I figured there's no better place to start something new than on a farm with someone I really care about for a little while," he says as he interlocks his fingers with Emily's.

"And while all of you are out there, living your best lives, I will be returning to school, to do exams," she says, making the rangers laugh.

"Oh please, you're going to England and you get to see all your friends again. You're happy," Lauren says and Nina nods.

"I am happy."

"Well, come on. Mentor's waiting," Jayden says, as everyone picks up their things, heading to the courtyard.

"So, Mentor," Mike says as they make their way down the steps. "What are your plans now that we're done?"

"My place is here. The Shiba house must always be ready for the next Nighlok attack. Even if it never comes," Ji says.

"I still can't believe the three of you are separating again," Shaylee says, indicating to her cousins. "You're finally together without the threat." The Shiba siblings just laugh though.

"It's not forever," Lauren says. "We're a family again. We're going to see each other plenty."

"Exactly," Nina nods. "We'll be right back here in about four months and I'm sure we'll get sick of each other soon enough."

"Well, if there's any trouble," Antonio says, raising his morpher and pointing it at each of them. "You have my number. Rangers together," he cheers, raising the morpher, the other raising theirs too, to meet his.

"Samurai forever," they chant before they begin heading out of the gate. He had already called a taxi for Nina to the airport, so it was waiting outside as they got out. The driver got out to help Nina put her things in the boot before she turned to the team.

"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you to the airport?" Jayden asked, opening the door for her.

"No," she laughs. He had asked four times already. "Seriously, you guys have long journey's ahead of you. Besides, it's easier to be inconspicuous on if I'm on my own."

"Alright," he nods. "Text me when you get there-"

"And when I land and when I meet Eddie, I know," she nods, pulling him into a hug. "I'll see you soon big brother." She pulls away, turning to hug the others. "You too, big sis," she grins. "Emily, take care of my brother."

"I'll try," she laughs.

"Mikey boy," she laughs. "Don't drown."

"You gotta stop that," he says but Nina sees his smile as she pulls away.

"Shay, make sure he doesn't drown."

"I'll see what I can do," her cousin smiles.

"Kev, don't forget to call me every once in a while, when you're not underwater."

"I'm sure I can fit you into my schedule," he grins.

"And you two," she says, pointing to Mia and Antonio, before hugging them too. "would it be too much to ask for a culinary experience with a fish from you," she says to Antonio. "And your new skills?" She says to Mia.

"I'm sure we can manage that," Mia replies.

"Mentor," she says. "Stay out of my room." The man just laughs, hugging the girl.

"Even when it need dusting?"

"Okay, maybe not then." But as she laughs, she feels someone tap her shoulder.

"Uh, Nina," Mike says.

"Yeah?" She asks as she turns around to face him but he's pointing at something… and turning she realises it's actually someone walking over. "Kendall?" She apologises to the driver for making him wait before walking over to meet her boyfriend halfway. On day three, she had quite a bit of shopping at the mall, so he'd offered to walk her back and help her carry her things, so he finally knew where she lived… and met the team. They'd all been pretty protective which was when Nina reminded them that while she may be the youngest, they all knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself. They'd eased up quite a bit after that reminder and had actually grown to like him, even Jayden!

"Hey," he says, hugging her.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" She says, pulling away.

"What? I can't see my girlfriend off before she leaves the country for almost four months?" He asks, and she shakes her head.

"Not when you have a show tonight, no. Does Gustavo know you're here?" She asks, slightly worried. She didn't want him to get in trouble; they'd said goodbye yesterday.

"Gustavo told me to leave," he laughs. "He likes you, which is a sentence I never thought I'd say about anyone."

"Seriously?" She says.

"Yeah," he nods. "You seem to have that effect on people. Even Bitters told me to say bye and I'm pretty sure he was tearing up. Although, I do have to get back soon."

"Well then, I'm glad you came," she smiles, leaning up on her toes to kiss him, temporarily forgetting the team about twenty feet behind her until she hears,

"No, no, no, none of that!" Mike calls and they break apart.

"Leave them alone," she hears Shaylee scold.

"No, he's right," Jayden says.

"Sorry," Kendall says, raising a hand as Nina shakes her head, only slightly embarrassed.

"I'm not gonna miss that," she mutters, half joking.

"Hey, I can't blame them," he says. "They care about you. I would do the same thing to Katie."

"She will hate you for that," she chuckles.

"And as her big brother, that is a sacrifice I will have to make," he shrugs, to which Nina laughs, rolling her eyes.

"These past five days have been pretty amazing."

"Yes, they have," Kendall nods. "And the twenty-fifth August is going to be even better."

"And why's that?"

"Because," he says taking her hand. "We're finally going to go on our first date." She smiles at him shyly before he squeezes her hand. "Come on. Don't want you to miss your flight."

* * *

"So, the mystical connection came in handy, after all," Eddie says as she approaches him at Heathrow. The flight was fifteen hours so it would be eleven pm on Friday back home; it was just past seven am on Saturday here.

"I guess it's one of the perks of being the chosen one," she shrugs. "Now, I've been craving Trudy's cooking so do you think we can make it back in time for breakfast?" Eddie grins, wrapping her in a hug which she quickly returns.

Nina Shiba. The American. The old newbie. The leader of Sibuna. The chosen one. The purple power ranger. Nina Shiba was going back. She had to. Pretty soon she had exams.

_**Chapter thirty. I can't believe it. That's it. We did it. We reached the end of House of Rangers! That's insane! I hope you guys have loved this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Thank you to all of you for sticking with me until the end, for reviewing and pm-ing and following and favouriting and just reading this story! Also, all the places I listed who were livestreaming the panel were the locations of everyone who's read this story so far so that was just a little token of appreciation :). I know this chapter is suuuuuper long but I hope you enjoyed the ending. **__**If you would like me to do a flash-forwards/epilogue or even do a touchstone of Ra continuation just let me know and I'll give it a shot but if you happy with this being the end then that's cool too, just let me know what you thought! But for the last time, thanks for reading! **_


	31. Touchstone of Ra Update

_**Hi guys! I know it's been a couple of months but I'm here to let you know that I'm working on the Touchstone of Ra for you guys! I mean I have the time so let's do it! Hopefully, the first chapter will be out within the week so just keep an eye out for that :) See you then!**_


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